Spearfishing Tenerife (Spain) laws / regulations

[xMrvn]

Hello,

i am soon going to visit Tenerife (Canary Islands - Spain) for ~3 weeks. I am actually visiting tenerife for vacation like 5 times a year. Up until now i sticked to scuba diving with my girlfriend, but we actually wanted to expierience something new.

We saw a lot of videos, we read lots of articles and blogs about spearfishing, and due to the fact that we have our own scuba equipment, a boat ready to use we thought that this would be a nice activity for us ( And also a delicious one because of the fresh [self caught] fish).

But we have some important questions to get answered beforehand.

• Nr. 1: (most important question!)
  What is the law regarding spearfishing in Spain ( especial in Tenerife / on the Canary Islands) ?
  I read that hunting (spearfishing) while scuba diving is illegal in Spain. But spearfishing while freediving would be fine. Whats the truth? Is it illegal to spear while scuba ? (Why is it like that?)
  We actually wanted to spear while scuba diving, because of the fact that we
  a) arent that firm with freediving up until now and
  b) we love to scuba and
  c) we would like to have enough time in order to find the right fish to shoot (right size, type of fish etc.). -> We only want to shoot fish for dinner, therefore having time in order to find the right one is a good thing in our opinion
  
• Nr. 2:
  Where can one get a map or something similar in order to know places where spearfishing is illegal?

Regarding my topic i searched google and the forum and found this : https://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/spanish-law.85639
But this thread is just about where and how to obtain a spearfishig license. Nothing is said about scuba diving and(!) spearfishing. And i would like to get some information regarding the law in Spain on scuba + spearfishing.

Hope anyone can help me.

Regards
Marvin

 

[Rugbyfan]

Spearfishing while freediving is sport. Spearfishing while scuba is just killing.
Not sure for Spain but lets say in Croatia u cant even have a gun on a boat if u have any kind of scuba equipment there. Fines are so high that u can even loose a boat.


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[xMrvn]

Spearfishing while freediving is sport. Spearfishing while scuba is just killing.

Not sure about that, but i actually didnt want to start a discussion about that topic. Passionate freedivers will most like tend to share your opinion about this, others don't. Killing a fish is killing a fish, shooting on targets may be sport, diving free itself is also sport. I agree with that. But please no more discussion about this, i am more interested in the information about the law situation.
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/ask-expert/ask-expert-should-you-spearfish-scuba
http://www.scubadiving.com/training/ask-expert/ask-expert-spearfishing-ok-scuba

Not sure for Spain but lets say in Croatia u cant even have a gun on a boat if u have any kind of scuba equipment there. Fines are so high that u can even loose a boat.

Thanks for this answer atleast. Knowing that you arent allowed to do it in croatia is good, but sadly it has nothing to do Spain. But Croatia is a member of the EU, so maybe one can guess that its for spain the same.

If anyone else knows more regarding Spain, please tell me!

 

[Mabr23]

You can spearfish while freediving at Tenerife, but you need a fishing license which cost about 30 eur. You also need a medical certification from a doctor to get the fishing license. I know you can get one in Santa Cruz in Tenerife atleast and it shouldnt take more than a day to do it.

If you are looking to take a course I highly advise Apnea Canarias. I just took a course there myself and it was great. One of their instructors(named Omar) is a regular spearfisher and will help you out with everything if you take their course.

For me there is two aspects of spearing while scuba, one is the legal and the other is moral.
Spearing while on scuba makes it a lot more efficient than spearing while freediving.

 

[xMrvn]

You can spearfish while freediving at Tenerife, but you need a fishing license which cost about 30 eur. You also need a medical certification from a doctor to get the fishing license. I know you can get one in Santa Cruz in Tenerife atleast and it shouldnt take more than a day to do it.

If you are looking to take a course I highly advise Apnea Canarias. I just took a course there myself and it was great. One of their instructors(named Omar) is a regular spearfisher and will help you out with everything if you take their course.

For me there is two aspects of spearing while scuba, one is the legal and the other is moral.
Spearing while on scuba makes it a lot more efficient than spearing while freediving.

Thank you very much for this great answer. I will contact you via private message if you wouldn't mind.

 

[Mabr23]

Thank you very much for this great answer. I will contact you via private message if you wouldn't mind.

Not at all, go ahead.

 

[Gab]

You can spearfish while freediving at Tenerife, but you need a fishing license which cost about 30 eur. You also need a medical certification from a doctor to get the fishing license. I know you can get one in Santa Cruz in Tenerife atleast and it shouldnt take more than a day to do it.

I know this is an old thread, but to spearfish legally in Spain (the Canary Islands are part of Spain) you need on top of the above to either hold a valid (recognized by Spain) firearms permit (because the Spanish law considers a Speargun as a weapon) or be part of an official spearfishing federation (FEDAS). Either of these two allow you to legally hold a speargun and a dive knife. Without it you cannot use your speargun to spearfish. Stores will sell you spearguns with one of these two documents regardless of it you have a spearfishing license or not but the opposite is not true. You can see it as one is to buy/own a speargun and the spearfishing license allows you to use it only. I think this is the same logic as for terrestrial hunting but not sure.

 

[Teddythetwig]

Dead thread come back to life! Gab, I don't believe that is true. I've bought two spearguns in the past few months(don't ask what happened to the first). One in A Coruña and one in La Línea. Neither time was I asked for any sort of license. Additionally, when I was traveling on the train, all I had to do was show my PADI cert card to carry my dive knife in my bag.

 

[Gab]

Dead thread come back to life! Gab, I don't believe that is true. I've bought two spearguns in the past few months(don't ask what happened to the first). One in A Coruña and one in La Línea. Neither time was I asked for any sort of license. Additionally, when I was traveling on the train, all I had to do was show my PADI cert card to carry my dive knife in my bag.

Hi Teddythetwig! If you go to the Decathlon in Vigo they locked up the spearguns and specify you need this card (and show an example of one).

I actually read the Spanish law a couple of years ago when I learned of this requirement (I didn't know it before!) and this is how it is supposed to be. I am sure some places do not ask for this but they should. If you go here: https://www.fegas.net/licencia-federativa-fegas/ , in the section "PERMISO DE PESCA POR LA XUNTA DE GALICIA" (License requirements for Galicia), it states you need "Licencia federativa FEGAS". I have my license from another region and they did not ask for this as a requirement but by law it is requires to buy/own a speargun. The law itself can be read here: https://www.xunta.gal/dog/Publicados/1999/19990721/AnuncioD786_es.html. The part that interest us is:

"2. Para ser titular de una licencia de pesca marítima de recreo submarina se requiere haber cumplido 16 años, disponer de un certificado médico oficial que acredite la aptitud física necesaria para la práctica normal de esta actividad, ser titular de un seguro de accidentes y de responsabilidad civil que cubra los incidentes en que pudiese incurrir el titular de
la licencia durante su período de validez y estar en posesión de la licencia de armas o tarjeta federativa que la sustituya"

Which roughly translates to:

"To be the holder of a marine recreational sea spearfishing fishing license, you must have reached the age of 16, have an official medical certificate attesting to the physical fitness necessary for the normal practice of this activity, be the holder of accident insurance and civil liability covering the incidents that could be incurred by the owner of the license during its period of validity and be in possession of the weapons license or federative card that replaces it"

As you see, you either need a weapons license or the federative card. If you get stopped by the authorities they could confiscate your gear and give you a fine.

You can find the same requirements on a federal (central government) level so all regions have this requirement to own a speargun. Some regions like Galicia require it in advance to get the license others they don't (but you still need to have it).

Like everything in Spain, I am sure even in Galicia some places will give you the license without asking for the card just like you were able to buy a speargun without one in the store you went to.

I hope this helps .

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[Teddythetwig]

Thanks for the info Gab, I'll definitely take that into account. Especially appreciate the specific laws and translations since my Spanish is terrible. I've also found that most police officers don't really know what the rules are so you really have to be careful.

 

[Gab]

You are welcome! Like you say, they don't know until they "know" .

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[grandbull]

What is the fastest an cheapest way to get a medical cert. I am going on holiday to Fuertaventura.

Thanks