Iceland
Europe · Northern Europe
Iceland has no regulation that explicitly authorises recreational spearfishing. Recreational sea fishing for own consumption is permitted without a special licence, but Article 6 of the Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006 limits such fishing exclusively to a sea rod (sjostong) and hand line (handfaeri) without automatic equipment. A speargun/harpoon is not among the permitted methods, so spearfishing falls outside the lawful recreational fishing exemption and is, in practice, not a recognised or sanctioned method. Anyone fishing commercially (selling/exploiting the catch) needs a general fishing licence from the Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa); catch from the own-consumption exemption may not be sold. Salmon and sea trout are protected and may not be taken in the sea. There is no published government guidance specifically permitting or banning spearguns, and community sources (DeeperBlue forum) report no clear official answer, with only anecdotal recreational practice. Treat the status as legally unclear and effectively restricted.
Pungkasan diperbarui Juni 14, 2026
Kerangka hukum
- §Fisheries Management Act (Log um stjorn fiskveida) No. 116/2006 (originally Act No. 38/1990, consolidated and amended through 2023)
- §Regulation No. 382/2017 on recreational fishing (fristundaveidar)
- §Act No. 41/1979 on the territorial sea, the economic zone and the continental shelf (defines the fisheries jurisdiction)
- §Act No. 79/1997 on fishing in Iceland's exclusive fishing zone
- Lisensi diwajibake
- Ora diwajibake
- Wong manca
- Sugeng rawuh
Hukum, verbatim
Teks hukum
Ketentuan undang-undang lan regulasi sing tepat sing ngatur mancing silem ing kene, dikutip kaya sing diterbitake, kanthi tautan menyang saben sumber resmi.
Recreational fishing for own consumption - permitted gear
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006 (Log um stjorn fiskveida nr. 116/2006)
Heimilt er an serstaks leyfis ad stunda fiskveidar i fristundum til eigin neyslu. Slikar veidar er einungis heimilt ad stunda med sjostong og handfaerum an sjalfvirknibunadar. Afla sem veiddur er samkvaemt heimild i thessari malsgrein er einungis heimilt ad hafa til eigin neyslu og er oheimilt ad selja eda fenyta hann a annan hatt.
Recreational fishing for own consumption - permitted gear (English rendering)
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006
Everyone is permitted to fish for own consumption at sea with rods and hand reel line without automatic jigger. This fishing is not subject to a permit. The catch caught based on these rules may not be sold or exploited in any way. Landowners' rights must be kept in mind when fishing.
Marine stocks as common national property; objective of the Act
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006
Nytjastofnar a Islandsmidum eru sameign islensku thjodarinnar. Markmid laga thessara er ad studla ad verndun og hagkvaemri nytingu theirra og tryggja med thvi trausta atvinnu og byggd i landinu. Uthlutun veidiheimilda samkvaemt logum thessum myndar ekki eignarrett eda oafturkallanlegt forraedi einstakra adila yfir veidiheimildum.
Commercial fishing requires a general fishing licence
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006
Enginn ma stunda veidar i atvinnuskyni vid Island nema hafa fengid til thess almennt veidileyfi. Almenn veidileyfi eru tvenns konar, th.e. veidileyfi med aflamarki og veidileyfi med krokaaflamarki.
Coastal fishing (strandveidar) conditions - hand line only, season and trip limits
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006
A hverju fiskveidiari er radherra heimilt ad radstafa aflamagni i oslaegdum botnfiski ... sem nytt skal til veida med handfaerum a timabilinu fra 1. mai til 31. agust samkvaemt serstokum leyfum Fiskistofu. ... Leyfi til strandveida samkvaemt thessari grein eru bundin eftirfarandi skilyrdum: 1. Oheimilt er ad stunda veidar fostudaga, laugardaga og sunnudaga. ... 2. Hver veidiferd skal eigi standa lengur en 14 klukkustundir. ... Adeins er heimilt ad fara i eina veidiferd a hverjum degi. ... 4. Aldrei er heimilt ad hafa fleiri en fjorar handfaerarullur um bord i fiskiskipi. Engin onnur veidarfaeri en handfaerarullur skulu vera um bord.
Kapan sampeyan bisa nyilem
Musim & watesan wektu
Periode tutup, buka, lan diwatesi sajrone setaun. Tansah konfirmasikake penutupan spesifik spesies sacara lokal.
- BukaCoastal fishing (strandveidar) permit holders - commercial small-boat hand-line season; not a spearfishing seasonMei 1 – Agu 31
The coastal fishing (strandveidar) permit, under Article 6a of the Fisheries Management Act, allows hand-line fishing from 1 May to 31 August. This applies to licensed boat operators, not to recreational spearfishing. Fishing is prohibited on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; max one trip per day of up to 14 hours.
Izin kanggo mancing
Lisensi
Apa sing dibutuhake supaya diidini ana ing banyu, biayane, lan cara entuke.
- Jenis
- No permit is required for sea fishing for own consumption, but the only lawful methods are sea rod and hand line. A general fishing licence from the Directorate of Fisheries is required for any commercial fishing (selling/exploiting catch). No spearfishing-specific licence exists.
- Biaya
- unknown
- Masa berlaku
- unknown
- Cara entuke
- For own-consumption sea angling, no application is needed. Commercial and recreational-tourism boat permits are obtained from the Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa) via island.is.
- Otoritas
- Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa)
Piranti & teknik
Aturan piranti
Piranti apa sing diidini, cara panggunaane, lan syarat sing ditempelake.
Watesan
- Recreational sea fishing for own consumption is legally limited to a sea rod (sjostong) and hand line (handfaeri) without automatic equipment (Article 6, Act No. 116/2006).
- Spearguns and harpoons are not listed among permitted recreational fishing gear; no provision authorises them.
- No published Icelandic regulation explicitly permits or bans spearguns or scuba-assisted underwater fishing for recreational use.
- Coastal commercial fishing (strandveidar) permits allow hand-line reels only (max four reels per boat); no other gear may be on board.
Because the law enumerates only rod and hand-line as permitted recreational methods, spearfishing with a speargun does not fall within the own-consumption exemption. Status of spearguns/scuba for spearfishing is legally unclear (marked null) - treat as not sanctioned pending confirmation from the Directorate of Fisheries.
Apa sing boleh dijaluk
Watesan tangkapan & spesies lindung
Kuota harian, ukuran minimal, lan spesies sing ora boleh ditangkap.
Watesan harian
No specific recreational daily bag limit published for rod/hand-line own-consumption fishing. Coastal fishing (strandveidar, commercial) is capped at 650 kg (cod-equivalent) of quota species per trip.
Spesies lindung — aja ditangkap
- DilindungiAtlantic salmon (Salmo salar) - may not be caught in the sea around Iceland
- DilindungiSea trout (Salmo trutta) - may not be caught in the sea around Iceland
Salmon and sea trout are protected in the marine environment and may only be fished in fresh water under separate angling permits. Cod, saithe (pollock) and golden redfish are the main species in the coastal/own-consumption sea fishery.
Sapa sing boleh mancing
Pengunjung & penduduk
Kepiye aturane beda kanggo pengunjung manca lan penduduk lokal.
Pengunjung manca
DiidiniSyarat
- Foreign visitors may fish at sea for own consumption under the same rod-and-hand-line rules as residents; catch may not be sold.
Watesan
- Same gear restriction applies: only sea rod and hand line without automatic equipment; no provision for spearguns.
- Commercial fishing in Iceland's fishery jurisdiction by foreign nationals/vessels is restricted under the Act on Foreign Investment in Business Enterprises and Act No. 22/1998 / rules on fishing and processing by foreign vessels.
There is no foreigner-specific spearfishing licence because there is no spearfishing licence at all. Tourism operators offering sea-angling trips need a special recreational fishing permit from the Directorate of Fisheries.
Penduduk
No licence for own-consumption sea angling (rod/hand line). Coastal fishing permit (strandveidileyfi) available to resident boat owners for the summer hand-line season.
Syarat
- For coastal fishing permits, the vessel must hold a certificate of seaworthiness and be registered; the owner must be lawfully registered on the ship and resident/established in the relevant region.
Keuntungan
- Residents with a registered boat may apply for the seasonal coastal fishing (strandveidar) permit (May-August).
Residency-based benefits relate to commercial/coastal fishing permits, not to recreational spearfishing, which has no dedicated framework.
Ngendi ing pesisir
Zona diidini & dilarang
Area sing diberi jeneng sing terbuka utawa tertutup kanggo mancing silem. Deleng gambaran lengkap ing peta interaktif.
Area dilarang
- Breidafjordur Nature Reservenature reserve / marine protected area
Large protected bay between the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and the Westfjords in west Iceland, with over 3000 islands, islets and skerries; a designated nature reserve where human activity is limited and regulated. No specific spearfishing permission exists; protected-area status constrains extractive activity.
- Surtsey Nature Reservestrict nature reserve / marine protected area (UNESCO World Heritage)
Strict nature reserve covering the volcanic island of Surtsey (formed 1963) and the surrounding ocean, ~65 km2 in total, off the south-west coast of Iceland in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) municipality. Access is by permit from the Surtsey Research Society / Environment Agency only; going ashore and diving by the island are prohibited, and a strict protection regime bans disturbance of natural features. Spearfishing (which requires diving/free-diving by the island) is therefore not permitted in the reserve. Bottom-towed net fishing was banned in the core zone in 2006.
- Grunnafjörður Nature Reserve (Ramsar)coastal nature reserve / Ramsar wetland
Coastal nature reserve and Ramsar wetland northeast of Akranes in west Iceland (estuary, mudflats, mussel banks and saltmarsh) - the only coastal/marine-bordering Ramsar site in Iceland. Protected since 1996; it is an internationally important staging, wintering and breeding area for waterbirds. Visits to the islands and skerries are prohibited from 15 April to 15 July, and all land is privately owned so access otherwise requires landowner permission. As a protected coastal reserve focused on the shallow-water/intertidal ecosystem, extractive activity such as spearfishing is not sanctioned.
Kondisi ing perairan
Kondisi langsung
Snapshot langsung kelautan lan cuaca cedhak titik referensi pesisir ing Iceland, saka Open-Meteo. Kondisi beda-beda sak pesisir — dianggep minangka indikatif.
Kelautan & cuaca langsung cedhak Breidafjordur Nature Reserve.
Sapa sing kudu ditakoni
Otoritas
Badan resmi sing tanggung jawab kanggo perikanan lan lisensi.
Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa)
fisheries authority
fiskistofa.isLocated in Akureyri, Iceland; issues fishing licences and recreational/coastal fishing permits.Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (Matvaelaraduneytid)
government ministry
government.isResponsible ministry for the Fisheries Management Act.Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (Hafrannsoknastofnun)
scientific advisory authority
hafogvatn.isProvides stock advice underpinning total allowable catch decisions.
Asale saka ngendi
Sumber
Saben klaim ing kaca iki bisa dilacak bali menyang salah siji referensi iki.
- [01]
Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006 - consolidated text (Lagasafn / FAOLEX)
Resmifaolex.fao.orgDiakses Jun 14 - [02]
Recreational fishing permit - Island.is (official government portal)
Resmiisland.isDiakses Jun 14 - [03]
Permits to fish (overview) - Island.is
Resmiisland.isDiakses Jun 14 - [04]
Coastal fishing permit - Island.is
Resmiisland.isDiakses Jun 14 - [05]
Fisheries Management Act, nr. 116 2006 - FAOLEX legislative record
Resmifao.orgDiakses Jun 14 - [06]
Fisheries Management Act, 1990 - ECOLEX legislative record
Sekunderecolex.orgDiakses Jun 14 - [07]
Is spearfishing in Iceland legal? - DeeperBlue.com Forums
communityforums.deeperblue.comDiakses Jun 14 - [08]
Breidafjordur Travel Guide (nature reserve) - Guide to Iceland
Sekunderguidetoiceland.isDiakses Jun 14
Cathetan peneliti
Spearfishing has no dedicated legal framework in Iceland. The governing instrument is the Fisheries Management Act No. 116/2006. Its Article 6 permits recreational sea fishing for own consumption WITHOUT a licence but EXCLUSIVELY with a sea rod (sjostong) and hand line (handfaeri) without automatic equipment - spearguns/harpoons are not listed, so spearfishing falls outside the lawful exemption. No Icelandic source explicitly authorises spearfishing; community sources report no clear official answer. Salmon and sea trout may not be caught in the sea. Verbatim Icelandic legal text was extracted from the official consolidated Act published via FAOLEX (Lagasafn edition 154b, 12 April 2024) and corroborated by the official island.is government portal English summary. Confidence is medium: the controlling statute and gear restriction are firmly established from official sources, but the specific status of spearguns/scuba (allowed vs prohibited) is not addressed in any retrievable official text and is therefore marked null/unclear rather than guessed. Coordinates for Breidafjordur are approximate (bay centroid). Recommend direct confirmation from the Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskistofa) before treating spearfishing as permitted. Inland/freshwater spearfishing: Spearfishing is prohibited in all Icelandic inland waters: Articles 27 and 30 of the Act on Salmon and Trout Fishing No. 61/2006 (Lög um lax- og silungsveiði) explicitly ban fishing with a spear ("sting") in both running water (straumvatn — rivers/streams) and still water (stöðuvatn — lakes/reservoirs), with only rods, nets, and hand-lines permitted (source: https://www.althingi.is/lagas/nuna/2006061.html).
Beri tahu aku nalika aturan Iceland owah
Kita bakal email sampeyan nalika musim utawa regulasi Iceland diperbarui ing dataset kita.