SpearfishingMap

Trinidad and Tobago

Americas · Caribbean

Recreational spearfishing is legal in Trinidad and Tobago and is widely practised, especially in Tobago where parrotfish, rockfish and other reef species are taken by free divers and scuba divers. The official Institute of Marine Affairs states plainly that spearfishing in Tobago is unregulated: there is no permitting system, no gear restrictions, no size or catch limits and no open or closed seasons for the activity itself. The key legal constraint is geographic: fishing of any kind (including spearfishing) is strictly prohibited inside declared marine protected/restricted areas, most notably the Buccoo Reef Marine Park / Bon Accord Lagoon complex in Tobago, designated under the Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act (Ch. 37:02). The general Fisheries Act (Ch. 67:51) bans poison and explosives, empowers the Minister to declare prohibited areas and to restrict harpooning/taking of fish, and absolutely prohibits taking, killing or harpooning any marine turtle. Visitors generally need a fishing permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, though enforcement of permits for shore/free-dive spearfishing is light and reporting is inconsistent.

Restricted
Affidabilità dei datiAffidabilità media

Ultimo aggiornamento Giugno 15, 2026

Quadro normativo di riferimento

  • §Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51 (Act 39 of 1916, as amended)
  • §Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act, Chapter 37:02 (Act 1 of 1970, as amended)
  • §Protection of Turtle and Turtle Eggs Regulations (GN 119/1975, as amended by 201/2011)
  • §Fisheries (Conservation of Marine Turtles) Regulations (LN 65/1994, as amended)
Licenza obbligatoria
Obbligatoria
Fucile subacqueo
Consentito
Autorespiratore
Consentito
Stranieri
Ammessi

La legge, integrale

Testi legali

Le esatte disposizioni di legge e regolamentari che disciplinano la pesca subacquea qui, citate come pubblicate, con un link a ogni fonte ufficiale.

01Section 4(c) and 4(d)Trinidad and Tobago · national

Power to declare prohibited areas and to prohibit harpooning/taking of fish

Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51

ENOriginale

4. The Minister may make Regulations— ... (c) declaring any area to be a prohibited area; (d) prohibiting the killing, harpooning, taking, removing, catching or any other means of taking possession of fish or any variety thereof either absolutely or at such times and within such areas as may be prescribed;

02Section 7Trinidad and Tobago · national

Prohibition on use of poison or explosives to take fish

Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51

ENOriginale

7. Any person who uses poison of any description or any explosive with intent to stupefy, poison, take or kill fish is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for three months.

03Section 8Trinidad and Tobago · national

Prohibition on taking fish in a prohibited area

Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51

ENOriginale

8. (1) Except with the written permission of the Minister, no person shall take any fish in a prohibited area. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of two thousand dollars and to imprisonment for six months.

04Section 2Trinidad and Tobago · national

Definition of fish (includes turtle, corals and other marine fauna)

Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51

ENOriginale

“fish” includes oysters, crabs, shrimps, turtle, turtle eggs, corals and any species of other marine fauna;

05Regulation 3Trinidad and Tobago · national

Absolute prohibition on killing, harpooning or taking any marine turtle

Protection of Turtle and Turtle Eggs Regulations (made under section 4 of the Fisheries Act, Ch. 67:51)

ENOriginale

3. No person shall, at any time, kill, harpoon, catch or otherwise take possession of any turtle, or purchase, sell, offer or expose for sale or cause to be sold or offered or exposed for sale any turtle, turtle meat or any other part of the turtle.

06Regulation 8(2)Trinidad and Tobago · national

Recreational vessel operation permitted within two nautical miles of the coast

Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51 (subsidiary regulations, 121/1998)

ENOriginale

8. ... (2) A person operating an artisanal vessel or a vessel for recreational purposes shall be permitted to do so within a distance of two nautical miles from the coast line.

07Regulation 3Tobago (Buccoo Reef Marine Park) · national

Prohibited activities within a restricted marine area (Buccoo Reef Marine Park)

Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act, Chapter 37:02 (Act 1 of 1970), restricted-area regulations

ENOriginale

No person may, without written ministerial permission: go in or alight upon a restricted area; operate a boat or other vessel within a restricted area or cause or allow a boat or other vessel to enter such an area; take or remove any fish or bird from a restricted area; take or remove any mangrove from a restricted area; dig, dredge, or otherwise interfere with the seabed of a restricted area. Fishing, of any kind, is strictly prohibited within the Marine Park.

Quando puoi immergerti

Stagioni e restrizioni temporali

Periodi di chiusura, apertura e restrizione nel corso dell'anno. Conferma sempre localmente le chiusure specifiche per specie.

Nessuna chiusura stagionale registrata — verifica localmente prima di immergerti.

Permesso di pescare

Licenza

Cosa ti serve per poter entrare in acqua, quanto costa e come ottenerla.

Licenza obbligatoriatramite Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries (Fisheries Division)

Apply to / contact the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries. In practice, no permitting system specifically governs shore-based/free-dive spearfishing in Tobago, and reports of permit requirements for visitors are inconsistent.

Ottieni la tua licenza

Apre il portale ufficiale · agriculture.gov.tt

Licenza obbligatoria
Tipo
Fishing permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries (for visitors who wish to fish); recreational use is broadly permitted within 2 nautical miles of the coast.
Costo
unknown
Validità
unknown
Come ottenerla
Apply to / contact the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries. In practice, no permitting system specifically governs shore-based/free-dive spearfishing in Tobago, and reports of permit requirements for visitors are inconsistent.
Autorità
Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries (Fisheries Division)
Portale ufficiale per le licenze · agriculture.gov.tt

Attrezzatura e tecnica

Regole sull'attrezzatura

Quale attrezzatura è consentita, come può essere usata e le condizioni associate.

Fucile subacqueoConsentito
AutorespiratoreConsentito

Restrizioni

  • Use of poison or explosives to take, stupefy or kill fish is prohibited (Fisheries Act s.7).
  • No gear restrictions specific to spearfishing exist in law (per Institute of Marine Affairs).

Parrotfish in Tobago are harvested mainly by spear-fishers using either SCUBA diving or free diving; the Institute of Marine Affairs confirms spearfishing is unregulated outside protected areas, with no gear restrictions. Spearguns are commonly used and provided on local spearfishing tours.

Cosa puoi prelevare

Limiti di cattura e specie protette

Quote giornaliere, taglie minime e specie che non devono mai essere prelevate.

Limite giornaliero

None established for recreational spearfishing (no catch limits per Institute of Marine Affairs).

Taglie minime

  • Lobster (carapace length)min 8.9 cm

Specie protette — non prelevare

  • ProtettaAll marine turtles (absolute prohibition on killing, harpooning, catching, possessing or selling under the Protection of Turtle and Turtle Eggs Regulations)
  • ProtettaCorals (included in statutory definition of 'fish'; taking restricted, especially within protected areas)

Lobster minimum legal size is reported as a carapace length of 3.5 inches (≈8.9 cm) and a minimum tail weight of 7 ounces. No spearfishing-specific size or catch limits exist (per Institute of Marine Affairs). Conservation concern exists over declining parrotfish abundance and size, but no statutory parrotfish limit has been confirmed. Size-limit figure for lobster is from a secondary aggregator source and should be verified against the official regulation before relying on it.

Chi può pescare

Visitatori e residenti

Come le regole differiscono per i visitatori stranieri e i residenti locali.

Visitatori stranieri

Consentito

Licenza speciale obbligatoria

Requisiti

  • Obtain a fishing permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries before fishing (per secondary travel sources).

Restrizioni

  • Same geographic and conservation restrictions as residents: no fishing inside the Buccoo Reef Marine Park or other restricted areas; turtles fully protected; no poison/explosives.

Visitors who wish to fish are generally advised to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, though some sources state no rod licence/permit is required for casual fishing around Tobago. Requirements are inconsistently reported; confirm with the Fisheries Division before travelling.

Residenti

No spearfishing-specific licence; general Fisheries Act framework applies. Artisanal/recreational vessels may operate within 2 nautical miles of the coast.

Local skin/free divers traditionally and legally spear reef fish (e.g. parrotfish, rockfish) outside protected areas; the activity is unregulated in Tobago per the Institute of Marine Affairs.

Dove sulla costa

Zone consentite e vietate

Aree denominate aperte o chiuse alla pesca subacquea. Vedi il quadro completo sulla mappa interattiva.

Aree consentite

  • Tobago coastal waters (outside marine protected areas)

    Spearfishing is widely and legally practised along most of Tobago's coast by free divers and scuba divers, targeting parrotfish, rockfish and other reef species. The Institute of Marine Affairs states the activity is unregulated outside protected areas (no permits, gear, size, catch limits or seasons).

    Must not enter the Buccoo Reef Marine Park or any other declared restricted/prohibited area; turtles are fully protected nationwide; poison and explosives prohibited.

    ima.gov.tt
  • Trinidad coastal waters (outside prohibited areas)

    Spearfishing is generally permitted in Trinidad's coastal waters outside any declared prohibited area, subject to the general Fisheries Act prohibitions.

    No taking of fish in declared prohibited areas without written ministerial permission; turtles fully protected; no poison/explosives.

    veronikasadventure.com

Aree vietate

  • Buccoo Reef Marine Park / Bon Accord Lagoon Complexmarine park / no-take marine protected area

    Tobago's principal and oldest marine protected area, designated a no-take marine park in 1973 under the Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act (Ch. 37:02). Fishing of any kind, including spearfishing, is strictly prohibited; access requires a valid Access/Transit Permit from the Division.

    tha.gov.tt
Vedi sulla mappa

Condizioni in acqua

Condizioni in tempo reale

Istantanea marina e meteo in tempo reale vicino a un punto di riferimento costiero in Trinidad and Tobago, da Open-Meteo. Le condizioni variano lungo la costa — considerale indicative.

Condizioni marine e meteo in tempo reale vicino a Buccoo Reef Marine Park / Bon Accord Lagoon Complex.

Condizioni

A chi rivolgersi

Autorità

Gli enti ufficiali responsabili della pesca e delle licenze.

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries – Fisheries Division

    fisheries authority

    agriculture.gov.ttunknown

  • Tobago House of Assembly – Division of Food Security, Natural Resources, the Environment and Sustainable Development

    regional environment/fisheries authority (Tobago)

    tha.gov.ttunknown

  • Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA)

    marine research institute

    ima.gov.ttunknown

Da dove provengono

Fonti

Ogni affermazione su questa pagina risale a uno di questi riferimenti.

  1. [01]

    Fisheries Act, Chapter 67:51 (unofficial consolidated version updated to 31 Dec 2015) – Ministry of Agriculture

    Ufficiale
    agriculture.gov.ttConsultato il Giu 15
  2. [02]

    Prohibited Use of the Buccoo Reef Marine Protected Area – Tobago House of Assembly

    Ufficiale
    tha.gov.ttConsultato il Giu 15
  3. [03]

    Parrotfish – Eating and 'pooping' their way to healthy reefs! – Institute of Marine Affairs

    Ufficiale
    ima.gov.ttConsultato il Giu 15
  4. [04]

    Snorkel, Freedive or Spearfish in Trinidad and Tobago – Veronika's Adventure

    Secondaria
    veronikasadventure.comConsultato il Giu 15
  5. [05]

    Caribbean Fishing – Laws and Regulations – Yacht Cruising Lifestyle

    Secondaria
    hashtagboatlife.comConsultato il Giu 15
  6. [06]

    Fishing Conservation – Trinidad and Tobago (Buccoo Reef Marine Park 1973; bottom trawling ban 2013)

    Secondaria
    fishingtnt.comConsultato il Giu 15

Note dei ricercatori

Spearfishing is legal and commonly practised in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in Tobago, and is explicitly described as unregulated outside protected areas by the Institute of Marine Affairs (no permits, gear, size/catch limits or seasons specific to the activity). The binding legal constraints are: (1) a strict no-fishing rule inside declared marine protected/restricted areas, above all the Buccoo Reef Marine Park / Bon Accord Lagoon complex (Marine Areas (Preservation and Enhancement) Act, Ch. 37:02); (2) a nationwide absolute prohibition on taking, killing or harpooning marine turtles; and (3) the Fisheries Act ban on poison and explosives. The Fisheries Act (Ch. 67:51) verbatim text was retrieved from the official Ministry of Agriculture PDF and extracted with pdftotext. The Marine Areas Act restricted-area prohibitions were taken from the official Tobago House of Assembly page (which paraphrases Regulation 3); the verbatim wording of the underlying statutory instrument was not independently retrieved, so that entry is a faithful close paraphrase from an official source rather than a guaranteed exact transcription. Lobster size/tail-weight figures and the visitor-permit requirement come from secondary travel/aggregator sources and should be verified against official regulations. A modernising Fisheries Management Bill (2020) was before Parliament but is not confirmed as enacted; the 1916 Fisheries Act remains the governing statute. Coordinates for Buccoo Reef are approximate centroid values. No closed seasons relevant to spearfishing were found. Confidence: medium – strong official primary sourcing for the Fisheries Act, turtle protection and Buccoo Reef prohibition; weaker (secondary) sourcing for licensing details and lobster size limits.

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