SpearfishingMap

United Republic of Tanzania

Africa · Eastern Africa

Tanzania is a union of two legal jurisdictions with separate fisheries laws: Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba). On the Mainland, the Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279) prohibit possessing, storing, selling or using harpoon guns and spear guns to fish (reg. 66(1)(c)), and prohibit using SCUBA / self-contained underwater breathing apparatus to capture fish or marine resources (reg. 66(1)(q)), although SCUBA may be used for 'sport fishing', live aquarium-fish capture, training and research (reg. 66(2)). Dive-industry sources report that sport (non-commercial) spearfishing is permitted in Zanzibar under the Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010, which bans spear/harpoon guns for commercial gain but allows licensed recreational sport spearfishing through a registered, government-authorised service provider with a specific sport spearfishing licence from the Department of Fisheries Development. All marine protected areas (marine parks and marine reserves) of both the Mainland and Zanzibar are closed to spearfishing. Because the Mainland regulation flatly bans possession/use of spear and harpoon guns 'except where authorised by Regulations made under the Act', anyone intending to spearfish should treat it as illegal unless they hold a specific written authorisation/licence.

Restricted
DatatillförlitlighetMedelhög tillförlitlighet

Senast uppdaterad juni 15, 2026

Styrande regelverk

  • §Fisheries Act, Cap. 279 (Mainland Tanzania)
  • §Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (G.N. under Cap. 279, Mainland)
  • §Marine Parks and Reserves Act, No. 29 of 1994 (Mainland)
  • §Marine Parks and Reserves (Prohibited and Regulated Activities) Regulations, 2006 (G.N. No. 128 of 2006)
  • §Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010 (Zanzibar)
Licens krävs
Krävs
Harpungevär
Förbjudet
Dyk med tub
Förbjudet
Utlänningar
Välkomna

Lagen, ordagrant

Lagtexter

De exakta författnings- och regleringsbestämmelser som styr harpunfiske här, citerade som de publicerats, med en länk till varje officiell källa.

01Regulation 66(1)(c)Mainland Tanzania · national

Prohibited fishing gears and methods - harpoon and spear guns

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)

ENOriginal

66.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in these regulations a person shall not- ... (c) posses, store, sell, use or cause another person to use harpoon guns, spear guns to fish;

02Regulation 66(1)(q)Mainland Tanzania · national

Prohibition on use of SCUBA to capture fish or marine resources

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)

ENOriginal

66.- (1) ... a person shall not- ... (q) use self-contained underwater breathing apparatus or Scuba or compressed air breathing equipment of any kind to capture fish, marine invertebrates, aquatic flora or living marine resources.

03Regulation 66(2)Mainland Tanzania · national

Permitted uses of SCUBA - sport fishing, aquarium, training, research

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)

ENOriginal

(2) Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus or Scuba or compressed air breathing equipment may be used for sport fishing, capturing of live aquarium fin fish, training and research purpose only.

04Regulation 66(4)Mainland Tanzania · national

Penalty for prohibited gears and methods

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)

ENOriginal

(4) A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a fine of not less than two million shillings or to imprisonment for a term of three years or to both.

05Regulation 67(1)-(2)Mainland Tanzania · national

Protection of rare and endangered species

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)

ENOriginal

67.- (1) A person shall not fish, possess, process, offer for sale, market or export marine and fresh water species, any part or any product of the species recognised as being globally or regionally endangered as listed in the Third Schedule. (2) A person shall not fish, possess, process, offer for sale or market marine turtles, dugong, whale sharks, dolphins or any marine species recognized globally or regionally as endangered species listed in the Third Schedule.

När du får dyka

Säsonger & tidsbegränsningar

Fredningstider, öppna och begränsade perioder över året. Bekräfta alltid artspecifika fredningar lokalt.

Inga säsongsfredningar registrerade — kontrollera lokalt innan du dyker.

Tillstånd att fiska

Licens

Vad du behöver för att få vara i vattnet, vad det kostar och hur du skaffar det.

Licens krävsvia Department of Fisheries Development, Zanzibar / Director of Fisheries (Mainland)

In Zanzibar, obtain a specific sport spearfishing licence from the Department of Fisheries Development (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Zanzibar); foreigners must operate through a registered, government-authorised service provider. On the Mainland, contact the local Fisheries Office / Director of Fisheries regarding any authorisation.

Skaffa din licens

Öppnar den officiella portalen · extremebluewaterspearfishing.com

Licens krävs
Typ
Specific sport spearfishing licence (Zanzibar); on the Mainland, possession/use of spear and harpoon guns is prohibited except where authorised by Regulations made under the Fisheries Act.
Kostnad
unknown
Giltighet
unknown
Hur du skaffar den
In Zanzibar, obtain a specific sport spearfishing licence from the Department of Fisheries Development (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Zanzibar); foreigners must operate through a registered, government-authorised service provider. On the Mainland, contact the local Fisheries Office / Director of Fisheries regarding any authorisation.
Myndighet
Department of Fisheries Development, Zanzibar / Director of Fisheries (Mainland)
Officiell licensportal · extremebluewaterspearfishing.com

Utrustning & teknik

Utrustningsregler

Vilken utrustning som är tillåten, hur den får användas och vilka villkor som gäller.

HarpungevärFörbjudet
Dyk med tubFörbjudet

Restriktioner

  • Mainland (reg. 66(1)(c)): possessing, storing, selling or using harpoon guns and spear guns to fish is prohibited.
  • Mainland (reg. 66(1)(q)): using SCUBA / self-contained underwater breathing apparatus or any compressed-air breathing equipment to capture fish, marine invertebrates, aquatic flora or living marine resources is prohibited.
  • Mainland (reg. 66(2)): SCUBA may be used for sport fishing, live aquarium fin-fish capture, training and research only.
  • Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010: spear/harpoon guns banned for commercial gain; recreational sport spearfishing allowed under a specific licence (per dive-industry sources).
  • All marine protected areas (marine parks and marine reserves) prohibit spearfishing.

The Mainland prohibition on spear/harpoon guns is general and not contingent on commercial purpose; the carve-out is 'except where authorised by Regulations made under the Act'. Combining a speargun with SCUBA would compound the violation. Treat speargun spearfishing as illegal on the Mainland absent specific authorisation.

Vad du får ta

Fångstbegränsningar & skyddade arter

Dagliga kvoter, minimimått och arter som aldrig får tas.

Daglig gräns

unknown

Skyddade arter — får inte tas

  • SkyddadMarine turtles (green, loggerhead, leatherback, olive ridley)
  • SkyddadDugong
  • SkyddadWhale sharks
  • SkyddadDolphins and whales (incl. sperm whale, humpback whale)
  • SkyddadCoelacanth (Latimeria spp.)
  • SkyddadCorals (blue corals, organ-pipe corals, black corals)

Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 reg. 67 and the Third Schedule prohibit fishing, possessing, processing or selling species recognised as globally or regionally endangered, expressly naming marine turtles, dugong, whale sharks and dolphins; accidental captures of such species must be returned to the sea immediately and logged/reported to a fisheries office.

Vem som får fiska

Besökare & bofasta

Hur reglerna skiljer sig för utländska besökare och lokalt bofasta.

Utländska besökare

Tillåtet

Särskild licens krävs

Krav

  • Operate through a registered, Zanzibar-government-authorised service provider (per dive-industry sources).
  • Hold a specific sport spearfishing licence issued by the Zanzibar Department of Fisheries Development.

Restriktioner

  • Sport / non-commercial only; catch may not be sold.
  • All marine protected areas of Zanzibar and Mainland Tanzania are off-limits.
  • On the Mainland, the general spear/harpoon-gun prohibition applies to everyone.

Foreigner pathway is described by a dive operator interpreting the Zanzibar regime; not independently confirmed against the verbatim text of the Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010. Verify directly with the Zanzibar fisheries authority before diving.

Bofasta

unknown

No resident-specific spearfishing licence regime was found in the consulted sources. The Mainland spear/harpoon-gun prohibition (reg. 66) applies to all persons regardless of residency.

Var på kusten

Tillåtna & förbjudna zoner

Namngivna områden som är öppna för eller stängda för harpunfiske. Se hela bilden på den interaktiva kartan.

Tillåtna områden

  • Tanzania territorial sea (outside MPAs), with sport licence

    Dive-industry sources (Extreme Blue Water Spear Fishing) report that licensed sport spearfishing is permitted within Zanzibar's internal waters and Tanzania's territorial sea up to 12 nautical miles, at locations including the west coasts of Pemba and Unguja, Latham Island, east coasts of Mafia, Okuza, Nyuni and Fanjove islands, and the east coast of mainland Tanzania - excluding all marine protected areas. This reflects an operator's interpretation of the Zanzibar game-fishing/sport-spearfishing regime, not a verbatim statutory zone.

    Sport (non-commercial) only; no sale of catch; foreigners must go through a registered Zanzibar-authorised service provider holding a specific sport spearfishing licence; all marine protected areas excluded.

    extremebluewaterspearfishing.com

Förbjudna områden

Visa på karta

Förhållanden på vattnet

Liveförhållanden

Ögonblicksbild i realtid av marina förhållanden och väder nära en kustreferenspunkt i United Republic of Tanzania, från Open-Meteo. Förhållandena varierar längs kusten — betrakta som vägledande.

Marina förhållanden & väder i realtid nära Mafia Island Marine Park.

Förhållanden

Vem du ska fråga

Myndigheter

De officiella organ som ansvarar för fiske och licensiering.

  • Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (Mainland) - Fisheries Division / Director of Fisheries

    fisheries authority

    uvuvi.go.tzunknown

  • Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU)

    marine protected area authority

    marineparks.go.tzunknown

  • Department of Fisheries Development, Zanzibar (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries)

    fisheries authority

    unknown

Var detta kommer från

Källor

Varje påstående på denna sida går att spåra tillbaka till en av dessa referenser.

  1. [01]

    The Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279) - official PDF, trade.tanzania.go.tz

    Officiell
    trade.tanzania.go.tzHämtad jun 15
  2. [02]

    Marine Parks and Reserves (Prohibited and Regulated Activities) Regulations, 2006 (G.N. No. 128 of 2006) - TanzLII

    Officiell
    tanzlii.orgHämtad jun 15
  3. [03]

    Fisheries Act / Marine Reserves Regulations - Laws of Tanzania (tanzanialaws.com)

    Sekundär
    tanzanialaws.comHämtad jun 15
  4. [04]

    Spearfishing Legality: East Africa (Tanzania & Zanzibar) - Extreme Blue Water Spear Fishing

    community
    extremebluewaterspearfishing.comHämtad jun 15
  5. [05]

    Mafia Island Marine Park - Wikipedia

    Sekundär
    en.wikipedia.orgHämtad jun 15
  6. [06]

    Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park - Wikipedia

    Sekundär
    en.wikipedia.orgHämtad jun 15
  7. [07]

    Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park - Wikipedia

    Sekundär
    en.wikipedia.orgHämtad jun 15

Forskaranteckningar

Tanzania is a union state with TWO separate fisheries jurisdictions: Mainland Tanzania (Fisheries Act Cap. 279 + Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009) and Zanzibar (Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010). VERBATIM Mainland law texts (reg. 66 and 67) were extracted from the official Government of Tanzania PDF of the 2009 regulations and confirm a general ban on spear/harpoon guns and on SCUBA capture of marine resources. The Zanzibar sport-spearfishing licensing pathway and the list of permitted/prohibited spearfishing locations come from a dive-operator source (community reliability) and could NOT be confirmed against the verbatim Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010 text (not retrievable in this session). The TanzLII page for G.N. No. 128 of 2006 returned HTTP 403 and the verbatim Marine Parks regulations text could not be captured directly. Marine-park coordinates are approximate park centroids from Wikipedia, suitable for map placement but not exact boundary geometry. No closed/open seasons specific to spearfishing were found. Recommended next steps: obtain the verbatim Zanzibar Fisheries Act, 2010 and the G.N. No. 128/2006 text, and confirm current Zanzibar sport-spearfishing licence fees and procedure with the Zanzibar Department of Fisheries Development before relying on the foreigner pathway. data_confidence=medium: strong, verbatim Mainland statutory basis but secondary/community sourcing for the Zanzibar permissive regime.

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