Mauritania
Africa · Western Africa
Mauritania's Maritime Fisheries Code (Loi n° 2015-017 of 29 July 2015) does not name spearfishing / underwater fishing (pêche sous-marine, chasse au harpon) as a distinct, regulated activity. The closest category is 'pêche sportive' (sport fishing), which Article 6 allows only for non-commercial recreational purposes, using gear whose composition and conditions of use are defined by an order (arrêté) of the Minister in charge of fisheries, and only in zones the Minister has designated. No publicly retrievable ministerial order specifically authorising or framing recreational spearfishing was found, so the practical legality is treated as restricted/unclear. General prohibitions apply: use of explosives or toxic substances is banned (Art. 38), and the capture/retention of all marine mammals, marine turtles and all seabird species is prohibited everywhere (Art. 39). The most important coastal areas — the Banc d'Arguin National Park (UNESCO World Heritage, est. 1976) and the Diawling National Park — bar modern/recreational fishing and motorboats; in the Banc d'Arguin only the indigenous Imraguen community may fish, using sail boats and traditional gear. Recreational spearfishing by tourists/foreigners is not documented as a permitted, licensed activity, and the marine national parks effectively prohibit it within their boundaries.
Sist oppdatert Juni 14, 2026
Styrende rammeverk
- §Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes (Maritime Fisheries Code)
- §Banc d'Arguin National Park regime (national park established 1976; UNESCO World Heritage 1989; Ramsar 1982)
- §Diawling National Park regime (national park established 1991; Ramsar 1994)
- Lisens påkrevd
- Påkrevd
Loven, ordrett
Lovtekster
De eksakte lovfestede og regulatoriske bestemmelsene som gjelder for spearfishing her, sitert slik de er publisert, med lenke til hver offisiell kilde.
Types of fishing — sport (recreational) fishing definition and conditions
Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes
Article 6 : La pêche peut avoir pour finalité a) la subsistance ; b) le commerce ; c) l'exploration; d) la recherche scientifique ou technique; e) le sport. [...] La pêche sportive est pratiquée sans but lucratif à des fins récréatives avec un matériel dont la composition et les modalités d'utilisation sont définies par arrêté du ministre chargé des pêches, dans les zones qu'il aura fixées. Les types de pêche peuvent être distingués en fonction des techniques utilisées, des espèces ciblées ou des zones où la pêche est pratiquée. Les types de pêche sont définis par décret pris en Conseil des Ministres sur rapport du Ministre chargé des pêches.
Prohibition of explosives and toxic substances in fishing
Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes
Article 38 : Il est expressément interdit, sauf autorisation spéciale du ministre chargé des pêches, de a) faire usage, dans l'exercice de la pêche, de matières explosives ou de substances toxiques susceptibles d'affaiblir, étourdir, exciter ou tuer des poissons ou de polluer le milieu marin ; b) détenir à bord des navires de pêche des matières et substances mentionnées à l'alinéa précédent.
Protection of certain species (marine mammals, turtles, seabirds)
Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes
Article 39 : Sont interdits en tout temps et en tout lieu, sauf autorisation spéciale du ministre chargé des pêches et à des fins de recherche scientifique ou technique a) la pêche, la capture et la détention de toutes espèces de mammifères marins ; b) la pêche, la capture et la détention des tortues marines ; c) la chasse, la capture, la détention de toutes espèces d'oiseaux marins; d) la pêche, la capture ou la rétention des animaux aquatiques faisant l'objet d'une restriction particulière prévue par les textes en vigueur. La commercialisation des espèces visées aux alinéas ci-dessus est interdite.
Serious offences — fishing in prohibited zones or with prohibited gear/technique
Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes
c) la pêche dans les zones interdites ou avec des engins de pêche ou technique prohibée ; d) la détention à bord le transport ou l'emploi d'explosifs ou autres substances toxiques ou non autorisées, ou de tous moyens ou dispositifs ayant pour effet de réduire l'action sélective des engins de pêche ;
Når du kan dykke
Sesonger og tidsbegrensninger
Lukkede, åpne og begrensede perioder gjennom året. Bekreft alltid artsspesifikke lukkinger lokalt.
Ingen sesongstenging registrert — verifiser lokalt før du dykker.
Tillatelse til å fiske
Lisens
Hva du trenger for å ha lov til å dykke, hva det koster, og hvordan du skaffer det.
Via the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy (Ministère des Pêches et de l'Économie Maritime); in practice tourist fishing is arranged through licensed charter operators.
Skaff lisensen dinÅpner den offisielle portalen · peches.gov.mr
- Type
- Sport fishing ('pêche sportive') is permitted under the Maritime Fisheries Code only with gear and in zones set by ministerial order; no specific recreational spearfishing licence framework was located. General authorisation/concession requirements apply to fishing activity.
- Kostnad
- unknown
- Gyldighet
- unknown
- Hvordan du får det
- Via the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy (Ministère des Pêches et de l'Économie Maritime); in practice tourist fishing is arranged through licensed charter operators.
- Myndighet
- Ministère des Pêches et de l'Économie Maritime (Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy)
Utstyr og teknikk
Utstyrsregler
Hvilket utstyr som er tillatt, hvordan det kan brukes, og hvilke betingelser som gjelder.
Begrensninger
- Explosives and toxic substances are prohibited in fishing (Art. 38).
- Sport-fishing gear ('matériel') composition and conditions of use must be defined by ministerial order (arrêté) (Art. 6); no such order specific to spearfishing was located.
The Maritime Fisheries Code (Loi 2015-017) does not explicitly mention spearguns (fusil sous-marin), harpoons (harpon) or scuba; their permissibility for recreational spearfishing is therefore unknown and subject to ministerial regulation and protected-area bans.
Hva du kan ta
Fangstbegrensninger og vernede arter
Daglige kvoter, minimumsstørrelser og arter som aldri må tas.
Daglig grense
unknown
Vernede arter — skal ikke tas
- VernetAll marine mammals (toutes espèces de mammifères marins) — Art. 39
- VernetMarine turtles (tortues marines) — Art. 39
- VernetAll seabird species (toutes espèces d'oiseaux marins) — Art. 39
- VernetAquatic animals subject to specific conservation restrictions under regulations in force — Art. 39
Capture, retention and commercialisation of the species listed in Article 39 are prohibited at all times and in all places, except by special ministerial authorisation for scientific/technical research. Sharks and rays are not officially targetable within the Banc d'Arguin National Park.
Hvem kan fiske
Besøkende og innbyggere
Hvordan reglene er forskjellige for utenlandske besøkende og lokale innbyggere.
Utenlandske besøkende
Begrensninger
- Marine national parks (Banc d'Arguin, Diawling) effectively exclude recreational/foreign spearfishing.
- Foreign fishing vessels operate under a separate authorisation regime under the Fisheries Code.
No specific, documented framework permitting recreational spearfishing by foreigners/tourists was found. Tourist sea fishing in Mauritania is typically arranged via charter operators (rod-and-line); spearfishing by tourists is undocumented and likely impractical/restricted in the main protected coastal areas.
Innbyggere
unknown
Fordeler
- Within the Banc d'Arguin National Park, only the indigenous Imraguen community is authorised to fish, using traditional sail boats and primitive gear (no motorboats).
Subsistence and traditional fishing ('pêche de subsistance') are recognised by Article 6 of the Fisheries Code; this is distinct from recreational spearfishing.
Hvor langs kysten
Tillatte og forbudte soner
Navngitte områder som er åpne eller lukkede for spearfishing. Se hele bildet på det interaktive kartet.
Forbudte områder
- Banc d'Arguin National Park (Parc National du Banc d'Arguin)national park / UNESCO World Heritage marine protected area
West Africa's largest marine protected area (~12,000 km2), established 1976, UNESCO World Heritage Site (1989) and Ramsar wetland (1982). Only the indigenous Imraguen community may fish within park boundaries, using relatively primitive techniques and tools; no motorboats are permitted and modern fishing gear is banned. Recreational/sport spearfishing is not permitted.
- Diawling National Park (Parc National du Diawling)national park / Ramsar wetland
National park established 1991 in the Senegal River delta of south-west Mauritania (~16,000 ha), Ramsar wetland (1994), part of a trans-border biosphere reserve. Fishing is regulated and limited to managed sustainable use by local communities; recreational spearfishing is not documented as permitted.
Marine and coastal reserve at the southern tip of the Cap Blanc peninsula near Nouadhibou, protecting the world's largest surviving colony of Mediterranean monk seals (Monachus monachus) and their breeding caves. Known as 'Costa de las Focas' / 'Côte des Phoques'. A sanctuary protecting the breeding caves and surrounding land and sea was created to prohibit fishing nets and prevent disturbance to the seals; recreational spearfishing is not permitted. The seal caves lie on the Mauritanian side of the Cap Blanc peninsula tip.
Coastal/marine nature reserve covering ~12 km2 in the Baie du Lévrier, about 14 km north of Nouadhibou. Officially designated a Nature Reserve by the Mauritanian state in July 2024. It shelters seagrass meadows, maerl beds, sandbanks, rocky islets and over 470 marine and bird species. Unregulated fishing ('pêche non encadrée') is identified as a threat the reserve aims to control; recreational spearfishing is not documented as permitted within the reserve.
Betingelser på vannet
Sanntidsbetingelser
Sanntids marin- og væroversikt nær et kystnært referansepunkt i Mauritania, fra Open-Meteo. Betingelsene varierer langs kysten — behandle dette som veiledende.
Live marin- og værdata nær Banc d'Arguin National Park (Parc National du Banc d'Arguin).
Hvem du skal spørre
Myndigheter
De offisielle organene ansvarlige for fiskeri og lisensiering.
Ministère des Pêches et de l'Économie Maritime (Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy)
fisheries authority
peches.gov.mrNouakchott, MauritaniaParc National du Banc d'Arguin (PNBA)
marine protected area authority
pnba.mrNouadhibou / Nouakchott, Mauritania
Hvor dette kommer fra
Kilder
Hvert påstand på denne siden kan spores tilbake til en av disse referansene.
- [01]
Loi n° 2015-017 du 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches Maritimes (full text PDF, FAOLEX)
Offisiellfaolex.fao.orgÅpnet Jun 14 - [02]
ECOLEX record — Loi n° 2015-017 portant code des pêches maritimes
Offisiellecolex.orgÅpnet Jun 14 - [03]
Ministère des Pêches et de l'Économie Maritime de Mauritanie (official site)
Offisiellpeches.gov.mrÅpnet Jun 14 - [04]
Banc d'Arguin National Park — Wikipedia (coordinates, area, fishing restrictions, UNESCO/Ramsar status)
Sekundæren.wikipedia.orgÅpnet Jun 14 - [05]
Diawling National Park — Wikipedia (coordinates, area, Ramsar status)
Sekundæren.wikipedia.orgÅpnet Jun 14 - [06]
Mauritania's fishmeal fever ends as government tightens regulation — Mongabay (coastal access/depth restrictions, prohibited methods context)
Sekundærnews.mongabay.comÅpnet Jun 14 - [07]
Fishing in Mauritania 2026: Permits, Best Spots, Charters & Costs — fishingworldguide.com (tourism guide; permits via charter/authority)
communityfishingworldguide.comÅpnet Jun 14
Forskernotater
Spearfishing is not addressed as a named activity in Mauritanian law. The Maritime Fisheries Code (Loi 2015-017, Art. 6) only provides a generic 'pêche sportive' (sport fishing) category whose gear and authorised zones must be set by a ministerial order (arrêté) that was not retrievable online; therefore the concrete legality of recreational spearfishing (speargun/harpoon, with or without scuba) is genuinely unclear and is recorded as 'restricted'. Verbatim French text of Articles 6, 38 and 39 and the offences list was extracted directly from the official FAOLEX PDF of the law (pdftotext); a few OCR artifacts in the source PDF were corrected to the obvious standard legal French (e.g. 'à des fins récréatives'). The most relevant coastal areas (Banc d'Arguin and Diawling national parks) bar modern/recreational and motorised fishing, so practical recreational spearfishing access along the prime Mauritanian coast is heavily constrained. data_confidence is 'low' because no spearfishing-specific instrument, no recreational licence schedule, and no closed-season schedule for recreational fishing could be located; only the general framework law and protected-area rules are confirmed. Coordinates for the two national parks come from a secondary source (Wikipedia) and are approximate centroids.
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