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