Spearfishing legislation in UAE

[hudasmt]

Is pole spearing covered by the laws too? or just the guns?

 

[The Killer's me]

these people are amazing...why the hell do they sell spearguns then...

 

[hudasmt]

Because you can use them 2 km or 2 miles away from shore or any man made structure if im not mistaken hehehe

 

[FisherKing]

Dear Gerhard,

Whereas spear guns are freely sold in the UAE, spearfishing is banned in its waters.

That said, the stipulations of the law, a copy of which is not at my disposal, state that free diving is permitted. Scuba on the other hand is not.

Those rules are most strictly followed in Abu-Dhabi, the capital. Other Emirates are more lenient.

If caught, the fines are all or any combination of the following:

1. Confiscation of the vessel
2. Confiscation of all diving gear
3. 6 months in jail
4. Dhs.25,000 fine

It gets worse if you are caught spearfishing on oil rigs in conserved areas, as what happened to us in Abu-Dhabi, near Daz Island in Ruwais/ Zerco. It was not a nice day.

On a live radio show, we once asked the question: Why is spearfishing banned in the UAE?

High ranking Govt. officials responded to our questions, but to say the least, their responses were not convincing and they did not have any understanding as to why the rule was in place.. but they had fully mastered the execution part of it.

Hence, no matter how long your breath hold is, I wouldn’t hold my breath in the hope of achieving any radical changes, any time in the near future.

My mobile number is attached below, for any queries you may have.

Regards,

Ashraf
050-2082582

So does this mean I can spearfish while freediving but cant while scuba diving????

 

[Salehthefish]

Yes thats right scuba spearfishing not allowed free diving is allowed with some rules... check the last posts you can see that you have to do it from 2 Kms away from shore and not in the restricted areas...

For me i am doing that in Diba and on the shore... It is nice there i believe... as mentioned before Abu Dahbi rules are more strict...

Wish u good spearing and we may arrange some trips in future...

 

[FisherKing]

Yes thats right scuba spearfishing not allowed free diving is allowed with some rules... check the last posts you can see that you have to do it from 2 Kms away from shore and not in the restricted areas...

For me i am doing that in Diba and on the shore... It is nice there i believe... as mentioned before Abu Dahbi rules are more strict...

Wish u good spearing and we may arrange some trips in future...

Thanks for clearing that up man, Im down for going on a trip sometime, im new here from canada juss got a car if ur goin on a trip somewhere i would like to meet up, but u sure u can get a speargun across the Oman boarder?

Good Day

my email moe_man70@hotmail.com

 

[pgalilea]

Dear all, as this thread is from 2008, I would like to ask if is there any update in the law. I live here since 3 months (arrived in march 2016) and plan to stay (and out of problems) for at least one year more. Are there any clear laws written somewhere? Are there clubs for spearfishing? Thanks

 

[sergi_co]

Pgalilea: did you get any replies at all? This forum seems to be totally dead

 

[pgalilea]

Pgalilea: did you get any replies at all? This forum seems to be totally dead

No, I have not received any reply apart from the one you saw in https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/shore-diving-dubai.106054/#post-958230

 

[William messruther]

Don't know where you get your info from but we dive Abu Dhabi every weekend on boats and weekdays by shore diving. No issues, it is not illegal and a fishing license covers spear diving. Will on 050 3510743 if you want to call and discuss