Oman

We, Qaboos bin Said, the Sultan of Oman, after perusal of [the Basic Statute of the State promulgated by Royal Decree 101/96] ... and after presentation to Majlis Oman, and in pursuance of public interest, have decreed as follows. Article I: The attached Aquatic Living Resources Law shall apply. Article II: The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries shall issue the executive regulation for the provisions of this law within a period not exceeding one year from the date of its issuance, and shall issue the decisions necessary to implement the provisions of this law, and until they are issued, the regulation and decisions in force shall continue to operate to the degree that they do not contradict with the provisions of this law. Article III: The Law on Fishing and Protection of Marine Living Resources promulgated by Royal Decree 53/81 is hereby repealed, as well as every provision contrary to this law or in conflict with its provisions. Article IV: This decree shall be published in the Official Gazette, and comes into force after 90 (ninety) days from the date of its publication.

JOURNALIST SUMMARY, NOT A STATUTORY QUOTE - the full text of Ministerial Decision 70/2026 is behind a paid subscription on the official decree.om portal and could not be retrieved verbatim. As reported by Muscat Daily and the Oman Observer, the executive regulation provides that recreational fishing is permitted under licence only; must be carried out manually using line and hook; the maximum catch per trip is 20 kg; and recreational fishing between sunset and sunrise is prohibited. It is also reported to ban bottom trawling, prohibit devices that aggregate fish (FADs), bar claiming of fishing locations by custom/tradition, and provide administrative penalties of up to RO 10,000, activity suspension of up to 180 days, or licence revocation.

DATABASE ABSTRACT, NOT A STATUTORY QUOTE - retained for historical context only. Per the ECOLEX/FAO legal-database summary, the 1981 law empowered authorities to specify equipment permitted or prohibited in navigation and fishing, to ban substances harmful to the growth, reproduction and migration of living aquatic resources, to designate locations where fishing is prohibited seasonally, and to establish the minimum size of fish and other living aquatic resources. This law was repealed by Royal Decree No. 20/2019.

JOURNALIST SUMMARY, NOT A STATUTORY QUOTE - as reported by The Arabian Stories, fishing for sharks will be prohibited from the first day of December until the last day of September of the following year under Ministerial Decision 39/2024. The official Arabic text of the decision was not retrieved verbatim.

Article (9) It is not permissible to engage in fishing, activities related to living aquatic wealth, research, scientific studies, practical experiments, or experimental fishing in the fishing waters or the seabed, except after obtaining a license to do so from the Ministry. Also, licenses issued in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the Regulations may not be waived.

Article (11) of the Living Aquatic Wealth Law (translated) prohibits hunting turtles, collecting its eggs, and hunting whales, dolphins, mammals and sea birds, except in accordance with the regulations specified by the executive bylaw.

Article (7) The Ministry shall prepare a special register in which the craft, coastal and commercial fishing boats and vessels that are licensed to fish are recorded, the name of the owner of each of them, the fishing area in which fishing is permitted, equipment, tools and methods of fishing, the number of fishermen and workers authorized to work on the boat or ship, the date and country of manufacture and technical specifications such as length, load, engine power and any other data determined by the Ministry.

Under Ministerial Decree No. 34/2016 issuing a regulation on the use of Al-Hilal fishing nets (translated): "The length of the hayal (gill) net shall not exceed (1) one kilometer for all pieces of nets used by fishing boats, and (2.5) two and a half kilometers for all pieces of nets used by artisanal and coastal fishing vessels."

JOURNALIST SUMMARY, NOT A STATUTORY QUOTE - the verbatim text of Ministerial Decision 70/2026 is behind a paid subscription on the official decree.om portal and could not be retrieved. As reported by The Arabian Stories, "Recreational fishing is tightly regulated, requiring licenses, limiting catches to 20 kilogrammes, banning night fishing, and restricting tools to manual line and hook methods only." The same report states the regulation bans "the use of devices that artificially attract fish schools for harvesting" and imposes "a total ban on bottom trawling", with violators given "up to 90 days to rectify breaches" and penalties including "fines of up to RO 10,000 - doubling for repeat offenses - along with suspension of activities for up to 180 days, revocation of licenses."