Yemen
Asia · Western Asia
No located Yemeni source specifically addresses recreational spearfishing (underwater fishing). Marine fishing is governed by Law No. 2 of 2006 (regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms) and its Executive Regulations (Prime Minister's Resolution No. 296 of 2006), which are framed around artisanal/traditional and commercial fishing; the General Fisheries Authority issues only traditional-fisherman, vessel, seller, transport, export and company licenses, with no recreational or sport-fishing category published. There is no published recreational-spearfishing licensing pathway, prohibition, or permission. In practice Yemen has almost no dive/spearfishing tourism infrastructure and is in protracted armed conflict, so the activity is effectively inaccessible for foreign visitors regardless of the formal legal text. Marine protected areas (notably the Socotra Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage site) impose conservation restrictions. Legality of recreational spearfishing is therefore marked unknown pending retrieval of the verbatim gear/method provisions of Law No. 2 of 2006 and Resolution No. 296 of 2006.
Last updated June 15, 2026
Governing framework
- §Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms (78 articles)
- §Prime Minister's Resolution No. 296 of 2006 (Executive Regulations for Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Law No. 3 of 2011 (amending Article 40 of Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Decree-Law No. 42 of 1991 on regulation of fishing and management and protection of marine resources (superseded by Law No. 2 of 2006)
- §Environment Protection Law No. 26 of 1995
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.
Purpose and scope of Yemen's principal fisheries law
Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms
This Law, consisting of 78 articles divided into VI Parts, aims at protecting and developing marine creatures and their marine environment from random fishing and detriment practices; encouraging and organizing investment in fishing and exploiting marine creatures and their marketing; organizing artisanal and coastal fishing activities to replace foreign industrial fishing; encouraging investments in aquaculture; promoting an integrated information database; strengthening marine control and surveillance; supporting research for sustainable exploitation of marine creatures; and protecting fish production quality through development of artisanal fishing.
Official closure of the shrimp fishing season in Red Sea territorial waters
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources decision (under the Law Regulating the Fishing, Exploitation, and Protection of Aquatic Life and its executive regulations)
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources announced the closure of the coastal shrimp fishing season in the Red Sea within Yemen's territorial waters, effective 30 April 2026. The decision is based on recommendations from research and fisheries bodies and comes within the framework of preserving fishery resources and ensuring the sustainability of aquatic life reproduction in territorial waters. Violators will face the penalties stipulated in the Law Regulating the Fishing, Exploitation, and Protection of Aquatic Life, its executive regulations, and other applicable laws.
When you can dive
Seasons & time restrictions
Closed, open and restricted periods across the year. Always confirm species-specific closures locally.
- ClosedCoastal shrimp - Red Sea, Yemeni territorial watersApr 30 – unknown
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources ordered closure of the coastal shrimp fishing season in the Red Sea within Yemen's territorial waters effective 30 April 2026 to protect stocks during the reproduction period; the reopening date was not stated in the announcement. This is a commercial/artisanal shrimp closure, not specific to spearfishing.
Permission to fish
License
What you need to be allowed in the water, what it costs, and how to get it.
Commercial/traditional licenses are issued via the General Fisheries Authority's digital platform; no recreational pathway documented.
Get your licenseOpens the official portal · faas-ye.com
- Type
- No recreational/sport or spearfishing license category is published. The General Fisheries Authority issues only traditional-fisherman, fishing-vessel, fish-seller, fish transport and marketing, fish-export and company licenses for marine fishing in territorial waters.
- Cost
- unknown
- Validity
- unknown
- How to obtain
- Commercial/traditional licenses are issued via the General Fisheries Authority's digital platform; no recreational pathway documented.
- Authority
- General Authority for Fisheries (General Fisheries Authority, Arabian Sea) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources
Gear & technique
Equipment rules
What gear is permitted, how it may be used, and the conditions attached.
No located source specifies rules on spearguns, harpoons, or scuba for recreational use. Law No. 2 of 2006 and its Executive Regulations (Resolution No. 296 of 2006) govern fishing gear and prohibited methods, but the verbatim gear/method provisions could not be retrieved (the FAOLEX full text is a scanned Arabic-language image PDF). Use of explosives and other destructive methods is generally prohibited under the fisheries and environmental laws, but the exact wording was not obtained.
What you may take
Catch limits & protected species
Daily quotas, minimum sizes, and species that must never be taken.
Daily limit
unknown
No recreational daily bag or size limits located. Yemen's fisheries are managed for sustainability under Law No. 2 of 2006; conservation concerns focus on over-exploited rock lobster and shrimp stocks, demersal fish, and shark stocks (shark finning is a recognised compliance problem). Sea turtles and corals are protected within marine protected areas, but a verbatim protected-species list for spearfishing could not be confirmed.
Who may fish
Visitors & residents
How the rules differ for foreign visitors and local residents.
Foreign visitors
Restrictions
- No recreational spearfishing pathway is published for foreigners.
- Yemen is in protracted armed conflict; most governments advise against all travel, and dive/spearfishing tourism infrastructure is effectively non-existent (the limited liveaboard diving historically operated mainly in the Red Sea islands).
Industrial/foreign fishing has historically been a concern that Law No. 2 of 2006 explicitly aims to replace with artisanal/coastal fishing. No documented regime grants foreign recreational divers a spearfishing permit.
Residents
Traditional fisherman license (commercial/artisanal, not recreational)
Marine fishing in territorial waters by nationals is organised through traditional-fisherman and vessel licenses (for Abari and Jalbah vessel types). No recreational resident spearfishing category is published.
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.
Prohibited areas
- Socotra ArchipelagoUNESCO World Heritage marine/biosphere reserve
UNESCO World Heritage site and Man and the Biosphere Reserve (designated marine protected area in 1996; biosphere reserve 2003). The archipelago contains numerous marine and terrestrial protected zones managed by the Socotra/Environment Protection Authority; sea cucumber harvesting by non-Socotri investors has been stopped and import/export of living materials requires a special EPA permit. Conservation rules restrict damaging activities; no published authorisation for recreational spearfishing.
- Ras Isa Marine Parkmarine park
Designated marine protected area on Yemen's Red Sea coast (listed among Yemen's protected areas).
- Zuqur Islands Marine National Park (Zubair / Hanish-Zuqur area)marine national park
Marine national park in the southern Red Sea (Zuqur and surrounding islands) listed among Yemen's protected areas.
Conditions on the water
Live conditions
Live marine and weather snapshot near a coastal reference point in Yemen, from Open-Meteo. Conditions vary along the coast — treat as indicative.
Live marine & weather near Socotra Archipelago.
Who to ask
Authorities
The official bodies responsible for fisheries and licensing.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (formerly Ministry of Fish Wealth)
fisheries ministry
saba.yeSanaa, with regional offices in Aden, Hodeidah and MukallaGeneral Authority for Fisheries in the Arabian Sea (General Fisheries Authority)
fisheries authority
faas-ye.comEstablished by Republican Decree No. 9 of 2001Environment Protection Authority (EPA) / Socotra Environment Protection Authority
environment authority
ye.chm-cbd.netOversees protected areas including the Socotra Archipelago
Where this comes from
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of these references.
- [01]
Law No. 2 of 2006 regulating fishing, exploitation and protection of aquatic organisms (ECOLEX abstract)
Officialecolex.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [02]
FAOLEX Database - Yemen fisheries and aquaculture legislation profile
Officialfao.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [03]
Law No. 2 of 2006 full text (Arabic, scanned PDF)
Officialfaolex.fao.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [04]
Saba (Yemen News Agency) - Ministry announces closure of shrimp fishing season in Red Sea
Officialsaba.yeAccessed Jun 15 - [05]
Fishery Authority Yemen - Licenses
Officialfaas-ye.comAccessed Jun 15 - [06]
Yemen Biodiversity Clearing-House - Legal and Institutional Framework
Officialye.chm-cbd.netAccessed Jun 15 - [07]
UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Socotra Archipelago, State of Conservation
Officialwhc.unesco.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [08]
List of protected areas of Yemen (Wikipedia)
Secondaryen.wikipedia.orgAccessed Jun 15 - [09]
Republic of Yemen Ministry of Fish Wealth - National Fisheries Strategy
Officialunodc.orgAccessed Jun 15
Researcher notes
Recreational spearfishing is not specifically regulated in any Yemeni source located. The fisheries regime (Law No. 2 of 2006 and its Executive Regulations, Resolution No. 296 of 2006; earlier Decree-Law No. 42 of 1991, now superseded) targets artisanal/commercial fishing and published license categories contain no recreational or sport-fishing pathway, so legal_status is set to 'unknown' rather than 'restricted' or 'no'. Verbatim gear/method article text could not be quoted because the only located full text is a scanned Arabic-language image PDF on FAOLEX (yem86989.pdf) that did not yield reliable OCR; FAOLEX/ECOLEX provide only abstracts. The two law_texts entries are (1) the ECOLEX abstract of Law No. 2 of 2006 and (2) the verbatim official shrimp-closure announcement from Saba (Yemen News Agency). Marine protected areas (Socotra Archipelago - UNESCO World Heritage; Ras Isa Marine Park; Zuqur Islands Marine National Park) restrict fishing/harvesting and require EPA permits for some activities. Practical context: Yemen has been in armed conflict since 2014/2015, dive and spearfishing tourism infrastructure is effectively non-existent, and most governments advise against all travel - so the activity is inaccessible in practice irrespective of the formal legal text. data_confidence is 'low' due to inability to retrieve verbatim primary-law gear/method provisions.
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