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.
Last updated June 15, 2026
Governing framework
- §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)
- License required
- Required
- Speargun
- Prohibited
- Scuba
- Prohibited
- Foreigners
- Welcome
The law, verbatim
Legal texts
The exact statutory and regulatory provisions that govern spearfishing here, quoted as published, with a link to each official source.
Prohibited fishing gears and methods - harpoon and spear guns
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)
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;
Prohibition on use of SCUBA to capture fish or marine resources
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)
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.
Permitted uses of SCUBA - sport fishing, aquarium, training, research
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)
(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.
Penalty for prohibited gears and methods
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)
(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.
Protection of rare and endangered species
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279)
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.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
No seasonal closures recorded — verify locally before diving.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
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.
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · extremebluewaterspearfishing.com
- Type
- 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.
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- unknown
- How to obtain
- 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.
- Authority
- Department of Fisheries Development, Zanzibar / Director of Fisheries (Mainland)
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
Restrictions
- 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.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
unknown
Protected species — do not take
- ProtectedMarine turtles (green, loggerhead, leatherback, olive ridley)
- ProtectedDugong
- ProtectedWhale sharks
- ProtectedDolphins and whales (incl. sperm whale, humpback whale)
- ProtectedCoelacanth (Latimeria spp.)
- ProtectedCorals (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.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
AllowedSpecial license required
Requirements
- 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.
Restrictions
- 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.
Residents
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.
Where on the coast
Allowed & prohibited zones
Named areas that are open to or closed for spearfishing. See the full picture on the interactive map.
Allowed areas
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.
Prohibited areas
- Mafia Island Marine Parkmarine national park
Tanzania's first and largest marine national park, 822 km2, established 1995, off the Rufiji delta. No-take and restricted-use zones; spearfishing prohibited.
- Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Parkmarine national park
Marine national park (650 km2) established 1 July 2000 in Mtwara district, extending to the Mozambique border; home to turtles, whales and dolphins. Spearfishing prohibited.
- Tanga Coelacanth Marine Parkmarine national park
Marine national park (552 km2) gazetted 2009 along the Tanga coast, created to protect coelacanths; contains no-take marine reserve zones. Spearfishing prohibited.
- Dar es Salaam Marine Reserves System (Fungu Yasini, Mbudya, Bongoyo, Pangavini Islands)marine reserve
Cluster of marine reserves off Dar es Salaam listed in the Fisheries (Marine Reserves) Regulations Schedule. Fishing and possession of fishing gear prohibited without written authorisation of the Director of Fisheries; diving and use of diving equipment restricted.
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in United Republic of Tanzania, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Mafia Island Marine Park.
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (Mainland) - Fisheries Division / Director of Fisheries
fisheries authority
uvuvi.go.tzunknownMarine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU)
marine protected area authority
marineparks.go.tzunknownDepartment of Fisheries Development, Zanzibar (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries)
fisheries authority
unknown
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
The Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (made under the Fisheries Act, Cap. 279) - official PDF, trade.tanzania.go.tz
Officialtrade.tanzania.go.tzAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
Marine Parks and Reserves (Prohibited and Regulated Activities) Regulations, 2006 (G.N. No. 128 of 2006) - TanzLII
Officialtanzlii.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
Fisheries Act / Marine Reserves Regulations - Laws of Tanzania (tanzanialaws.com)
Secondarytanzanialaws.comAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
Spearfishing Legality: East Africa (Tanzania & Zanzibar) - Extreme Blue Water Spear Fishing
communityextremebluewaterspearfishing.comAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
Mafia Island Marine Park - Wikipedia
Secondaryen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park - Wikipedia
Secondaryen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park - Wikipedia
Secondaryen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15
Researcher notes
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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