Serbia
Europe · Southern Europe
Serbia is a landlocked country with no sea coast, so all fishing is freshwater (rivers, lakes, reservoirs). Spearfishing / underwater fishing is explicitly prohibited. The Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks (Official Gazette RS No. 128/2014 and 95/2018), in Article 22(1)(3), bans catching fish with harpoons (harpun), spears (osti), underwater guns / spearguns (podvodna puška), explosives and other prohibited means. Recreational fishing is legally defined (Article 2, point 21) as a non-commercial activity using only rod-and-line tackle and auxiliary net tools. There is therefore no legal route to recreational spearfishing in Serbia, and no spearfishing licence exists. A standard recreational fishing permit is required for ordinary angling but does not authorise spearfishing.
Zuletzt aktualiséiert Juni 15, 2026
Gouvernéierende Kader
- §Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda (Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks), Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia No. 128/2014 and 95/2018
- §Pravilnik o vrednosti dnevne, višednevne i godišnje dozvole za rekreativni ribolov (Rulebook on the value of daily, multi-day and annual recreational fishing permits) - annual rulebooks
- Spiergewier
- Verboten
- Auslänner
- Net erlaabt
- Max. Spieren
- 0
D'Gesetz, verbatim
Gesetzestexte
Déi exakt gesetzlech a regulatoresch Bestëmmungen, déi d'Speerfëscherei hei gouvernéieren, esou wéi publizéiert zitéiert, mat engem Link op all offiziell Quell.
Prohibited fishing methods and tools (harpoons, spears, spearguns)
Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 128/2014 i 95/2018)
loviti ribu eksplozivom i drugim rasprskavajućim sredstvima, harpunom, ostima, podvodnom puškom i drugim zabranjenim ili nedozvoljenim sredstvima
Definition of recreational fishing (rod-and-line and auxiliary net tools only)
Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 128/2014 i 95/2018)
rekreativni ribolov je neprivredna aktivnost i podrazumeva lov polno zrelih riba udičarskim i pomoćnim mrežarskim alatima radi zadovoljenja potreba građana za rekreacijom
Wann Dir dauche kënnt
Saisons & Zäitbeschränkungen
Geschlossen, geöffent a ageschränkt Perioden iwwer d'Joer. Bestätegt ëmmer artenspezifisch Schliesszäiten lokal.
- ZouAll recreational fishing - spearfishing is prohibited at all times regardless of season
Spearfishing is banned year-round under Article 22 of the Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks. Species-specific closed seasons (lovostaj) and minimum catch lengths apply to permitted rod-and-line angling but are not relevant to spearfishing, which is never permitted.
Erlaabnis zum Fëschen
Lizenz
Wat Dir braucht fir am Waasser erlaabt ze sinn, wat et kascht a wéi Dir et kritt.
Issued by the fishing-area user (korisnik ribarskog područja), e.g. Srbijašume or angling associations, plus membership card. Not applicable to spearfishing.
Är Lizenz kréienÖffnet dat offiziellt Portal · paragraf.rs
- Typ
- No spearfishing licence exists. A general recreational fishing permit (dozvola za rekreativni ribolov) is required for ordinary rod-and-line angling, but it does not and cannot authorise spearfishing, which is prohibited by law.
- Käschten
- Recreational angling permit (not spearfishing): annual senior approx. 9,000 RSD; daily approx. 1,300 RSD; multi-day approx. 2,600 RSD (2024 rulebook values, vary slightly by year and fishing-area user).
- Gëltegkeet
- Annual (calendar year), daily, or multi-day (up to 7 days) for ordinary angling.
- Wéi ze kréien
- Issued by the fishing-area user (korisnik ribarskog područja), e.g. Srbijašume or angling associations, plus membership card. Not applicable to spearfishing.
- Autoritéit
- Ministarstvo nadležno za poslove zaštite i održivog korišćenja ribljeg fonda (ministry responsible for fish-stock protection) via fishing-area users
Ausrüstung & Technik
Ausrüstungsreegelen
Wéi Ausrüstung erlaabt ass, wéi se benotzt duerf ginn a wéi Bedéngungen drun hänken.
Aschränkungen
- Harpoons (harpun) are prohibited - Article 22(1)(3)
- Spears (osti) are prohibited - Article 22(1)(3)
- Underwater guns / spearguns (podvodna puška) are prohibited - Article 22(1)(3)
- Explosives and other bursting/blasting devices are prohibited - Article 22(1)(3)
- Permitted recreational fishing is limited to rod-and-line (udičarski) and auxiliary net tools only - Article 2(21)
All speargun/harpoon/spear equipment is illegal for fishing. Only rod-and-line tackle is lawful for recreational fishing.
Wat Dir mat kënnt huelen
Fangbeschränkungen & geschützte Arten
Deeglech Quoten, Mindestgréissten a Arten, déi ni geholl duerfen ginn.
Deeglech Limit
Not applicable to spearfishing (prohibited). Daily catch limits and minimum lengths exist for permitted rod-and-line angling under the law and implementing rulebooks.
Catch limits, minimum lengths (lovne dužine) and closed seasons (lovostaji) apply only to lawful rod-and-line angling, not to spearfishing, which is banned outright.
Wien fësche duerf
Besucher & Awunner
Wéi d'Reegelen fir auslännesch Besucher a lokal Awunner ënnerscheeden.
Auslännesch Besucher
Net erlaabtAschränkungen
- Spearfishing is prohibited for everyone in Serbia, including foreign visitors - Article 22(1)(3)
- Foreigners may obtain ordinary recreational angling permits but never a spearfishing permit, as none exists
The statutory ban on harpoons/spears/spearguns applies equally to residents and foreigners.
Awunner
Recreational angling permit only (no spearfishing permit exists)
Ufuerderungen
- Membership card and recreational fishing permit required for lawful rod-and-line angling
- Permit generally required from age 14
Virdeeler
- Reduced permit fees for seniors (65+), women, youth, juniors and persons with disabilities under annual rulebooks
Residents have no lawful means to spearfish; the prohibition is universal.
Wou op der Küst
Erlaabt & verbotene Zonen
Benannt Gebidder, déi fir Speerfëscherei op oder zou sinn. Kuckt d'ganzt Bild op der interaktiver Kaart.
Verbotene Gebidder
- Entire territory of the Republic of Serbia (all fishing waters)national statutory ban (all freshwater fishing areas)
Spearfishing with harpoon, spear or speargun is prohibited on all fishing waters nationwide under Article 22(1)(3) of the Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks. The country is landlocked, so only freshwater bodies (rivers such as the Danube, Sava, Tisa, Morava; lakes and reservoirs) exist, and the ban applies to all of them.
Wien ze froen
Autoritéiten
Déi offiziell Gremien, déi fir Fëscherei a Lizenzéierung zoustänneg sinn.
Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine (Ministry of Environmental Protection) - sector for fish-stock protection and sustainable use
environment ministry / fisheries authority
Ribočuvarska služba i ribarski inspektori (fishery wardens and fisheries inspectors)
enforcement / inspection
Wou dëst hierkommt
Quellen
All Behaaptung op dëser Säit geet op eng vun dëse Referenze zréck.
- [01]
Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda (full consolidated text, Paragraf legal database)
Offiziellparagraf.rsOpgeruff Jun 15 - [02]
Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda - official text, Legal Information System of the Republic of Serbia
Offiziellpravno-informacioni-sistem.rsOpgeruff Jun 15 - [03]
Zakon o zaštiti i održivom korišćenju ribljeg fonda - PDF hosted by Serbian Customs Administration (Uprava carina)
Offiziellcarina.rsOpgeruff Jun 15 - [04]
Pravilnik o vrednosti dnevne, višednevne i godišnje dozvole za rekreativni ribolov za 2024. godinu (permit prices)
Sekundärparagraf.rsOpgeruff Jun 15 - [05]
FAOLEX - Serbia fisheries legislation record
Offiziellfaolex.fao.orgOpgeruff Jun 15
Fuerschernotizen
Serbia is landlocked (coastline=false); all fishing is freshwater. Spearfishing is unambiguously illegal: Article 22(1)(3) of the Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks (Sl. glasnik RS 128/2014, 95/2018) lists harpoons (harpun), spears (osti) and underwater guns (podvodna puška) among prohibited catching means, and Article 2(21) restricts recreational fishing to rod-and-line and auxiliary net tools. Verbatim Serbian legal text was retrieved from the Paragraf legal database (paragraf.rs), a long-established Serbian legal publisher carrying consolidated statute text; the official government portals (pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs and government PDFs) host the same law but their pages are JS-rendered or stored as compressed PDFs that could not be text-extracted via automated fetch, so they are listed as corroborating sources. data_confidence=high because the operative prohibition is short, explicit, and consistently reproduced across independent fetches. No marine/coastal data applies. License 'required' set to null because no spearfishing licence exists (the field would be misleading as true/false for an activity that is outright banned). Inland/freshwater spearfishing: Prohibited in all inland/freshwater bodies nationwide — Article 22(1)(3) of the Law on Protection and Sustainable Use of Fish Stocks (Official Gazette RS No. 128/2014 and 95/2018) bans fishing "harpunom, ostima, podvodnom puškom" (with harpoons, spears, and underwater spearguns) in all fishing waters. Serbia is landlocked so all fishing is freshwater, and no verifiable exceptions exist for any named lake, river, or reservoir. Source: https://www.paragraf.rs/propisi/zakon_o_zastiti_i_odrzivom_koriscenju_ribljeg_fonda.html
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