Laos
Asia · South-Eastern Asia
Laos is landlocked, so there is no marine spearfishing; only freshwater (rivers, reservoirs, lakes, rice fields) fishing exists. There is no national law that specifically names recreational spearfishing or speargun use. Underwater spearing with hand harpoons/spears is a long-standing traditional and subsistence fishing method and is broadly tolerated as a 'fishing gear'. However, the national Fisheries Law No. 03/NA (2009) prohibits using 'weapons', explosives, electric devices and other noxious substances to catch aquatic organisms, prohibits fishing inside fish conservation zones, fish breeding/spawning areas and during the closed season, and prohibits taking protected species. Concrete lists of permitted/prohibited gears, closed seasons and conservation zones are not set nationally but are defined locally by village Fisheries Management Committees (FMCs) and village-level fisheries regulations, so legality of spear/harpoon fishing depends on the specific water body and village. Subsistence family fishing generally needs no licence; fishers register in the village fisher's book. There is no recreational-spearfishing licensing regime aimed at tourists, and rules for foreigners are not separately defined.
Laatst bijgewerkt juni 14, 2026
Geldend kader
- §Fisheries Law No. 03/NA of 9 July 2009 (Lao PDR)
- §Village-level fisheries regulations and Fisheries Management Committee (FMC) management plans (decentralised under the Fisheries Law)
- Vergunning vereist
- Niet vereist
De wet, woordelijk
Wetteksten
De exacte wettelijke en regelgevende bepalingen die speervissen hier reguleren, geciteerd zoals gepubliceerd, met een link naar elke officiële bron.
Definition of fishing gear and harmful fishing gear
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA
6. Fish Conservative zone means deep water areas or along the rivers which are identified by fisheries management committee or according to fisheries regulations at village level, which designated as prohibited zone for the whole year to be habitats and safe breeding of aquatic organisms; 7. Fishing gears means tools use for taking or catching aquatic organisms; 8. Harmful fishing gear means tools use for taking or catching aquatic organisms which is destruction such as poison, explosive, electric device, or other noxious substance;
General prohibitions (gear, methods, conservation zones, closed season, protected species)
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA
Individuals, organizations domestic and international dwelling in Lao PDR are not allowed to undertake the following activities: 1. Use of poison, explosive, weapons, electric devices, or other noxious substances for fishing or catching aquatic organisms; waste disposal, waste water or chemical to the water resources. 2. Accept, trade, own or remove illegal aquatic organisms; 3. Produce, import or sell all type of prohibited fishing gears; 4. Using fishing gears which unduly obstructs the passage of aquatic organisms such as fish net, dragnet, bagnet, pot trap; 5. Erect any structure, dig any trap pond or pump any water near a recession area of wetland a permanently inundated area, fishing in the closed season; 6. Destroy fish conservative zones, catching aquatic organisms in fish breeding areas, fish crowed or fish herd and natural fish spawning, according to the identification of fisheries management committee at a certain water resources or fisheries management regulations at village level; 7. Fishing or other aquatic organisms of protected type and management type including fish fingerings and other aquatic organisms fingerings.
Protection of fish and other aquatic organisms from harmful gear and destructive methods
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA
Protection of fish and other aquatic organisms is to protect fish and other aquatic organisms from destruction by natural or human such as the use of harmful fishing gears and destructive methods. This is to preserve fish and other aquatic organisms that can grow abundant in the future.
Family subsistence fisheries and fisher registration
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA
Subsistance fisheries is fishculture, conservation, protection, development, fishing and the use of aquatic organisms in a certain area of water resources according to the regulations for daily life. General fishculture and other aquaculture by families in the water resources areas or ponds are not over 15,000 m2 or in the fishcage not over 120 m2 per family. Fishculture for general type, protected type second heir, management type first heir are not necassary need a license from concerning authority. For parents stock and first heir of protected aquatic organism and parents stock of management type are not allowed for families. Fishermen have to register in fisher's book list according to the regulation of Fisheries Management Committee at a certain water resources.
Wanneer je mag duiken
Seizoenen & tijdsbeperkingen
Gesloten, open en beperkte perioden door het jaar heen. Bevestig soortspecifieke sluitingen altijd lokaal.
- GeslotenWater bodies and species as designated by local Fisheries Management Committees and village fisheries regulationsunknown – unknown
Article 38(5) of the Fisheries Law prohibits 'fishing in the closed season'. The Fisheries Law does not fix national closed-season dates; closed seasons (typically aligned with fish breeding/spawning periods, often the rainy/flood season) are defined locally by village Fisheries Management Committees and village-level fisheries regulations and therefore vary by location. Exact dates are not retrievable from a national source.
Toestemming om te vissen
Vergunning
Wat je nodig hebt om het water in te mogen, wat het kost en hoe je het krijgt.
- Type
- No recreational/spearfishing licence regime. Subsistence family fishing requires no licence but registration in the village fisher's book; commercial fisheries are separately regulated/licensed.
- Kosten
- unknown
- Geldigheid
- unknown
- Hoe te verkrijgen
- For subsistence fishing, register in the village fisher's book list with the local Fisheries Management Committee (Fisheries Law Art. 14). No national recreational fishing licence exists.
- Autoriteit
- Village Fisheries Management Committee / District Agriculture and Forestry Office
Uitrusting & techniek
Uitrustingsregels
Welke uitrusting is toegestaan, hoe die gebruikt mag worden en welke voorwaarden eraan verbonden zijn.
Beperkingen
- Use of poison, explosives, 'weapons', electric devices or other noxious substances for catching aquatic organisms is prohibited nationally (Fisheries Law Art. 38.1).
- Gears that unduly obstruct the passage of aquatic organisms (e.g. fish nets, dragnets, bagnets, pot traps) are prohibited (Art. 38.4).
- 'Harmful fishing gear' (poison, explosive, electric device, other noxious substance) is defined and banned (Art. 3.8, Art. 22).
- Specific lists of permitted vs prohibited fishing gears are set locally by village Fisheries Management Committees and village fisheries regulations, not at national level.
Hand harpoons/spears are a traditional Lao fishing gear and are not named as prohibited in the national Fisheries Law; whether spear/harpoon fishing is permitted in a given water body depends on local FMC/village rules and on the zone (banned inside fish conservation zones, breeding/spawning areas and during the local closed season). The national ban on 'weapons' is generally understood to target firearms/destructive devices rather than simple hand spears, but this is not explicitly clarified in the statute. Spearguns and scuba use for fishing are not addressed by national law (status unknown).
Wat je mag meenemen
Vangstlimieten & beschermde soorten
Dagquota, minimummaten en soorten die nooit gevangen mogen worden.
Daglimiet
unknown
Beschermde soorten — niet meenemen
- BeschermdAquatic organisms listed as 'protected type' in List I of the Aquatic and Wildlife Law (Fisheries Law Art. 3.9; taking prohibited under Art. 38.7).
- BeschermdAquatic organisms listed as 'management type' in List II of the Aquatic and Wildlife Law (Fisheries Law Art. 3.10; limited/endangered, controlled utilisation).
- BeschermdFish fingerlings and juvenile aquatic organisms of protected and management types (Art. 38.7).
No national numeric daily bag or minimum-size limits are set in the Fisheries Law; such limits, where they exist, are set locally by Fisheries Management Committees and village regulations. Taking protected/management-type species (per List I and II of the Aquatic and Wildlife Law) is prohibited; serious offences carry imprisonment of three months to one year plus fines (Art. 68).
Wie mag vissen
Bezoekers & inwoners
Hoe de regels verschillen voor buitenlandse bezoekers en lokale inwoners.
Buitenlandse bezoekers
Beperkingen
- Article 38 prohibitions apply to 'Individuals, organizations domestic and international dwelling in Lao PDR' equally, so foreigners are subject to the same bans (weapons/explosives/electric devices, conservation zones, closed season, protected species).
The Fisheries Law does not establish a separate regime, licence or permit for foreign nationals doing recreational fishing/spearfishing. No tourist spearfishing-permit system was found. Foreigners are bound by the same national prohibitions and by local village/FMC rules; practical permission depends on the specific water body and local authority.
Inwoners
Subsistence family fishing: no licence required, but registration in the village fisher's book list (Fisheries Law Art. 14).
Vereisten
- Register as a fisher with the local Fisheries Management Committee for the relevant water body.
- Comply with local FMC / village fisheries regulations, conservation zones and closed seasons.
Voordelen
- Lao families may conduct subsistence fishing and aquaculture (ponds up to 15,000 m2 or fish cages up to 120 m2 per family) without a licence.
Subsistence fishing for daily life is a recognised right of Lao residents under Article 14, subject to local management rules; this is the channel through which traditional spear/harpoon fishing is generally practised.
Waar aan de kust
Toegestane & verboden zones
Genoemde gebieden die open of gesloten zijn voor speervissen. Bekijk het volledige beeld op de interactieve kaart.
Verboden gebieden
- Fish Conservation Zones (FCZs) / Fish Conservative Zonesfish conservation zone (no-take aquatic reserve)
Deep-water areas or river stretches designated by a Fisheries Management Committee or by village-level fisheries regulations as prohibited (no-take) zones for the whole year, to serve as habitats and safe breeding areas for aquatic organisms (Fisheries Law Art. 3.6 and Art. 38.6). Hundreds of such community FCZs exist on the Mekong and its tributaries across Laos; individual zones are named and demarcated locally rather than in a single national registry.
- Fish breeding, spawning and fish-aggregation areasbreeding/spawning protection area
Article 38(6) prohibits catching aquatic organisms in fish breeding areas, fish crowd/herd areas and natural fish spawning areas, as identified by the local Fisheries Management Committee or village fisheries regulations. Specific locations are set locally.
Wie je moet vragen
Autoriteiten
De officiële instanties die verantwoordelijk zijn voor visserij en vergunningen.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Department of Livestock and Fisheries)
fisheries authority / agriculture ministry
faolex.fao.orgAssigned as the core fisheries management authority under Fisheries Law Art. 43-44 (Vientiane, Lao PDR)Provincial / Capital Agriculture and Forestry Department
provincial fisheries authority
faolex.fao.orgProvincial-level fisheries administration (Fisheries Law Art. 45)District Agriculture and Forestry Office
district fisheries authority
faolex.fao.orgDistrict-level fisheries administration (Fisheries Law Art. 46)Village Fisheries Management Committees (FMCs)
local/community fisheries management body
faolex.fao.orgSet local fishing rules, permitted/prohibited gears, closed seasons and fish conservation zones for each water body
Waar dit vandaan komt
Bronnen
Elke bewering op deze pagina is terug te voeren op een van deze referenties.
- [01]
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA of 9 July 2009 (Lao PDR), official English translation
Officieelfaolex.fao.orgGeraadpleegd jun 14 - [02]
Fisheries Law No. 03/NA, dated 09 July 2009 - Lao Trade Portal (Lao PDR Government)
Officieellaotradeportal.gov.laGeraadpleegd jun 14 - [03]
Fisheries Law No.03 (2009) English - Lao Trade Portal PDF
Officieellaotradeportal.gov.laGeraadpleegd jun 14 - [04]
Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Lao PDR - a Legislative Review (FAO / The Fish Site)
Secundairthefishsite.comGeraadpleegd jun 14 - [05]
Guidelines for Assessing Fish Conservation Zones in Lao PDR (FISHBIO)
Secundairfishbio.comGeraadpleegd jun 14 - [06]
Diving in Laos (PADI) and Laos dive destination overviews - freshwater diving/spearfishing context
communitypadi.comGeraadpleegd jun 14
Notities van de onderzoeker
Laos is landlocked (no marine waters), so this record covers freshwater fishing only. The governing instrument is the national Fisheries Law No. 03/NA of 9 July 2009; verbatim English provisions (Arts. 3, 14, 22, 38) were taken from the official FAOLEX translation, which was downloaded and parsed directly. The law does NOT mention recreational spearfishing, spearguns or scuba spearfishing by name. Hand spears/harpoons are a recognised traditional subsistence gear and are not nationally banned, but Lao fisheries management is heavily decentralised: permitted/prohibited gears, closed seasons and no-take fish conservation zones are defined locally by village Fisheries Management Committees and village fisheries regulations, which are not centrally published. Therefore the practical legality of spear/harpoon fishing varies by water body. National hard prohibitions that always apply: no weapons/explosives/electric devices/poison; no fishing in fish conservation zones, breeding/spawning areas or during the local closed season; no taking of protected (List I) or management (List II) species. Confidence is 'medium' because the national statute is fully sourced and verbatim, but spearfishing-specific status and all quantitative limits (seasons, sizes, bag limits, zone coordinates) are set at village level and were not retrievable from authoritative national sources. The SEAFDEC Lao PDR country profile could not be fetched (TLS certificate error) and is not relied upon.
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