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Morning Brief

On the Water · Diving

Marine reserves and spearfishing rules

What each protected area allows, how a diver gets in, what breaking the rules costs, and the spearfishing law: breath-hold only, 100 feet from shore, never at night. Plain words, not legal advice.

The reserves

Boundary points for Tres Palmas, Luis Peña, Caja de Muertos, Mona's shore-fishing zones and the three anchoring boxes are printed in Reg. 7949, Art. 8; they are legal lines, not dive-site pins.

What breaking the rules costs

Under Law 147 of 1999, the Coral Reef Law (amended by Law 122 of 2020, Art. 10), DRNA can fine $500 to $10,000 per violation, plus the cost of repairs, for:

  • Damaging or removing coral, or selling it
  • Polluting reefs or seagrass
  • Anchoring outside the mooring buoys where buoys are installed, or anchoring inside designated or recovery areas without authorization
  • Damaging a mooring buoy
  • Fishing or diving in reef recovery areas, marine reserves and other designated areas without the prior authorization of the DRNA Secretary

In practice, diving inside a reserve goes through a permitted operator. This is 787daily's reading, not legal advice.

Source

Spearfishing and what you may take

Reg. 7949 dates from 2010; check with DRNA that no later amendment has replaced it.

Spearfishing
  • Spearfishing is legal only on a breath-hold: recreational fishers may use a speargun "in apnea" (Art. 18.9) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
  • A speargun with a scuba tank is illegal for recreational fishers (Art. 18.2); hookah for fishing is banned (14.i), and so are nets with scuba (14.h). The one exception is the lionfish authorization (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
  • No spearfishing within 100 ft (30.48 m) of the coast, and the gun stays unloaded there (Art. 8.6) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
  • No spearfishing at night, sunset to sunrise, or at piers, reservoirs, rivers, estuaries, bathing areas, marine reserves or artificial reefs, lionfish excepted (Art. 8.5) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
Lionfish
  • Invasive: unlimited take, export, juveniles as bait, day or night, in mangroves and at piers (Art. 22) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
  • Taking them in reserves or no-take zones, or with scuba or hookah plus a spear, sling or net, needs a written "Autorización Especial para Voluntarios de Captura de Pez León" from the DRNA Secretary; on those days lionfish is the only legal catch, and the outing is reported to DRNA (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
Lobster
  • No spearing or hooks (Art. 8.18); minimum carapace 3.5 in (89 mm), measured where caught by divers without a boat (8.15); no egg-bearing females (8.17); no separated tails (8.16) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
Queen conch
  • Queen conch: 3 per person a day or 12 a boat (Art. 18.5); shell at least 9 in, lip at least 3/8 in (18.6); out of the shell only on board, never underwater (18.7); closed 1 August to 31 October (8.23) (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
Never take
  • Illegal to take: sea turtles and marine mammals (Art. 8.38), nurse shark (8.27), Nassau and goliath grouper (8.34); tarpon and bonefish are catch-and-release (DRNA Fishing Regulation)
The recreational sea-fishing license (Art. 16)
Who1 day7 days1 year
Resident, 22 to 60$3$5$20
Resident, 15 to 21$3$5$5
Resident under 15 or over 60FreeFreeFree
Non-resident U.S. citizen$5$7$35
Foreign visitor$7$10$50

Recreational sea-fishing license (Art. 16), age 13 and up. Charter clients fishing with the captain are exempt. Separate species permits (Art. 17) for lobster, conch, land crab and billfish: $10 / $15 / $25.

Closed seasons

SpeciesClosed
Queen conchReg. 7949, Art. 8.23Aug 1 to Oct 31
Red hind (mero cabrilla)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.24-8.48Dec 1 to Feb 28
Yellowfin grouper (guajil)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.24-8.48; printed "31 de abril"Feb 1 to Apr 30
Mutton snapper (sama)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.24-8.48Apr 1 to May 31
Silk and blackfin snapperReg. 7949, Art. 8.24-8.48Oct 1 to Dec 31
Reef fish at Bajo de Sico (federal waters)50 CFR 622.439Oct 1 to Mar 31

A shaded month is closed for part or all of it. No Puerto Rico spearfishing club or federation was found.

Sources (4)