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Morning Brief

On the Water · Fishing

Fishing in Puerto Rico

What to know before you fish from a pier, a beach or a boat: the license, whose rules apply where you are, what is closed today, how many you may keep and how big, the fish nobody may take, and where to launch. Each rule with the article it comes from; plain words, not legal advice.

Before you go

  1. A license, if you are 13 or older. DRNA's recreational sea-fishing license, $3 to $7 a day for a visitor or resident; a charter's clients fishing with its crew need none. Who pays what
  2. Whose waters you are in. Out to 9 nautical miles (16.7 km), Puerto Rico's rules; beyond, the federal ones, and they differ. The line
  3. Closed today: Queen conch (Puerto Rico waters); Silk and blackfin snapper (chillo ojo amarillo, alinegra) (Puerto Rico waters); Black, blackfin, silk and vermilion snapper (federal waters); Reef fish at Bajo de Sico (federal waters). Next to close: Red hind (mero cabrilla), Puerto Rico waters, on Dec 1. The calendar
  4. How many and how big. In federal waters, 5 groupers, snappers and parrotfish together a person a day; in Puerto Rico's, a yellowtail snapper must be 10.5 in to the fork. Every limit
  5. The fish nobody keeps. Nassau and goliath grouper, sea turtles, nurse sharks; tarpon and bonefish go back. The list
  6. No fishing in the reserves' no-take zones, and spearfishing only on a breath-hold, never with a tank. The reserves
  7. NOAA's newest Caribbean notice: NOAA Fisheries Announces Changes to the Management of the Rainbow Runner in Federal Waters around Puerto Rico (Oct 5, 2026). All of them

Closed seasons

Puerto Rico's seasons bind its waters; the federal ones bind the waters past 9 nautical miles. A season closes the species to fishing and to keeping; a "Closed today" row is closed on Oct 22, 2026.

Species or placeWatersClosedThe year, today marked
Yellowfin grouper (guajil)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.48; printed "31 de abril"Puerto Rico watersFeb 1 to Apr 30
Mutton snapper (sama)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.25Puerto Rico watersApr 1 to May 31
Blue land crab (juey de tierra)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.21; on land; never in nature reservesPuerto Rico watersJul 15 to Oct 15
Queen conchReg. 7949, Art. 8.23; Federal waters: never openPuerto Rico watersAug 1 to Oct 31Closed today
Silk and blackfin snapper (chillo ojo amarillo, alinegra)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.40; a fish caught by chance may be kept for your own table: 5 a fisher a day or 10 a boatPuerto Rico watersOct 1 to Dec 31Closed today
Red hind (mero cabrilla)Reg. 7949, Art. 8.24Puerto Rico watersDec 1 to end of Feb
Red, black, tiger, yellowfin and yellowedge grouper50 CFR 622.439(b)(1)Federal watersFeb 1 to Apr 30
Mutton and lane snapper50 CFR 622.439(b)(4)Federal watersApr 1 to Jun 30
Black, blackfin, silk and vermilion snapper50 CFR 622.439(b)(3)Federal watersOct 1 to Dec 31Closed today
Reef fish at Bajo de Sico50 CFR 622.439(a)(3); its federal part; fishing boats may not anchor there all yearFederal watersOct 1 to Mar 31Closed today
Red hind, west of 67°10′ W50 CFR 622.439(b)(2); through the last day of February; federal waters off the west coast, out to Desecheo and MonaFederal watersDec 1 to end of Feb
All fishing at Abrir La Sierra Bank50 CFR 622.439(a)(1); through the last day of February; pots, traps, bottom longlines and gillnets banned there all yearFederal watersDec 1 to end of Feb
All fishing at Tourmaline Bank50 CFR 622.439(a)(2); its federal part; through the last day of February; no pots, traps, bottom longlines or gillnets all yearFederal watersDec 1 to end of Feb

The strip is the year, the closed days shaded to the day and today the line. Puerto Rico's own rules are DRNA's Regulation 7949 of 2010, the fishing regulation DRNA lists today; DRNA can add a closure by public notice (Art. 28). Past 9 nautical miles the federal rules apply instead.

How many, and how big

Bag limits count what you keep in a day; size limits are minimums unless a range is given. Fork length runs from the snout to the fork of the tail.

Bag limits, Puerto Rico waters
  • Queen conch: 3 a person a day, or 12 a boat, whichever is less (Art. 18.5)1
  • Dolphinfish (dorado): 10 a fisher a day, or 30 a boat, whichever is less (Art. 18.11)1
  • Wahoo (peto) and king and cero mackerel (sierra): 5 of each a fisher a day, or 10 a boat, whichever is less (Art. 18.11)1
  • No catch of a recreational trip may be sold or traded (Art. 18.1)1
Bag limits, federal waters
  • Groupers, snappers and parrotfishes together: 5 a person a day, or 15 a boat with 3 or more aboard; within that, no more than 2 parrotfish a person or 6 a boat (50 CFR 622.444(a)(1))4
  • Angelfishes, grunts, jacks, surgeonfishes, triggerfishes and wrasses together: 5 a person a day, or 15 a boat with 3 or more aboard; within that, 1 surgeonfish a person or 4 a boat (622.444(a)(2))4
  • Spiny lobster: 3 a person a day, no more than 10 a boat (622.444(c))4
  • Dolphinfish: 5 a person a day, no more than 15 a boat; wahoo: 5 a person a day, no more than 10 a boat (622.444(b), since July 25, 2025)5
  • A holder of a Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands commercial fishing license is not bound by these bag limits (622.444)4
Size limits, Puerto Rico waters
  • Yellowtail snapper (colirrubia): 10.5 in fork length (Art. 8.29)1
  • Snook (róbalo): 22 to 38 in fork length, a slot: smaller and bigger go back (Art. 8.35)1
  • White grunt (boquicolorao) 8 in; honeycomb and scrawled cowfish (chapín) 7 in; king mackerel (sierra carite) 20 in; cero (sierra alasana) 16 in, all fork length (Appendix 5)1
  • Spiny lobster: carapace 3.5 in (89 mm); no egg-bearing females, no tails apart from the body (Arts. 8.15 to 8.17)1
  • Queen conch: shell 9 in, lip 3/8 in (Art. 18.6); West Indian topshell (burgao): shell 2.5 in across (8.43)1
  • Billfish, lower jaw to fork: blue marlin 99 in, white marlin 66 in, sailfish 63 in (Art. 18.8)1
Size limits, federal waters
  • Yellowtail snapper: 12 in total length (50 CFR 622.441(a))4
  • Spiny lobster: carapace 3.5 in, landed whole, no egg-bearing females (622.441(c), 622.445(c))4
  • Dolphinfish 24 in and wahoo 32 in, fork length (622.441(b), since July 25, 2025)5

The license

The recreational sea-fishing license (Reg. 7949, 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
  • The license is issued by the DRNA Secretary; you fill in DRNA's form, pay the fee when you apply (not refunded), and carry the license whenever you fish (Art. 16)1
  • Children under 13 need no license, but fish beside a licensed adult except from shore; anglers with a documented disability pay nothing; clients of a charter or head boat fishing with its owner or crew need none (Art. 16.2)1
  • DRNA's own page for the provisional recreational fishing license holds its online form, which asks you to sign in to a DRNA account first8
  • Lobster, conch, land crab and billfish each need a species permit on top of the license: $10 a day, $15 a week, $25 a year (Art. 17); for billfish DRNA endorses the federal permit1

Puerto Rico waters and federal waters

  • Puerto Rico's waters reach 9 nautical miles (16.7 km) from shore; DRNA's rules apply there. From 9 to 200 nautical miles are federal waters, where NOAA Fisheries' rules (50 CFR 622, Subpart S) apply7
  • Puerto Rico's own law calls its waters the territorial sea, out to 9 miles from the low-water line (Art. 4.4)1

On a trip that crosses the line, the stricter of the two is the one to fish by: a mutton snapper is closed in federal waters until June 30 but open in Puerto Rico's from June 1, and a fish kept past 9 miles must meet the federal size.

NOAA's notices for Puerto Rico

NOAA Fisheries announces each federal season, closure and rule change for the U.S. Caribbean in a Fishery Bulletin, in English and Spanish. The newest that concern Puerto Rico, read every morning:

Every NOAA Fisheries bulletin (filter by Caribbean).

Gear and spearfishing

Gear
  • Recreational fishers in Puerto Rico's waters fish with rod and reel or hand line, a speargun on a breath-hold, or by hand for conch, lobster and crabs; nothing else (Art. 18.9)1
  • Federal waters: a boat fishing for or keeping reef fish must carry at least one descending device, ready to use (a weighted tool that returns a fish to the depth it came from), since April 1, 2026 (50 CFR 622.437(a)(4))6
  • Federal waters: no spear or hook for spiny lobster, and no poisons, powerheads or gillnets for reef fish (622.437)4
Spearfishing
  • Spearfishing is legal only on a breath-hold: recreational fishers may use a speargun "in apnea" (Art. 18.9)1
  • 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 authorization1
  • No spearfishing within 100 ft (30.48 m) of the coast, and the gun stays unloaded there (Art. 8.6)1
  • 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)1
Lionfish
  • Invasive: unlimited take, export, juveniles as bait, day or night, in mangroves and at piers (Art. 22)1
  • 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 DRNA1
Lobster and conch
  • 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)1
  • 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)1

Never take

  • Illegal to take in Puerto Rico's waters: sea turtles and marine mammals (Art. 8.38), nurse shark (8.27), Nassau and goliath grouper (8.34); tarpon, bonefish, permit and palometa are catch-and-release only (8.26)1
  • Illegal to take in federal waters: Nassau and goliath grouper; blue, midnight and rainbow parrotfish; queen conch; giant manta, spotted eagle ray and southern stingray; coral, sea cucumbers and sea urchins (50 CFR 622.438)4

Reserves and no-take zones

Fishing is limited or banned inside these protected areas. Each links to its rules and legal basis on the reserves page.

  • Canal Luis Peña Natural ReserveCulebra, between the island and Cayo Luis Peña. No fishing of any kind, commercial or recreational, including aquarium collecting
  • La Cordillera Reefs Natural ReserveOff Fajardo and Ceiba. Its cays: Faraglioni, Icacos, Ratones, Diablo, Barquilla, Cucarachas, Arrecifes Hermanos, Barriles, Lobos, Palominos, Palominito. The land of Cayo Lobos and Palomino is private and outside it; the waters around them are inside
  • Tres Palmas Marine ReserveRincón, from half a nautical mile off the shore to the shelf edge. No fishing inside the reserve
  • Desecheo Island Marine ReserveMona Passage, about 12 miles off the west coast. No landing: the island is closed to the public because of unexploded military ordnance
  • Isla de Mona and Monito Natural ReserveAbout 45.7 miles off the west coast. No fishing within 1 mile of the restricted zone; hook-and-line fishing only, from shore, in two zones (Playa Sardinera and Playa Pájaros); no spearguns, nets, traps or longlines anywhere in the reserve (Reg. 7949, Art. 8.8)
  • Isla Caja de Muertos Natural ReserveOff Ponce. No fishing in the recovery zone, except lionfish
  • Isla Verde Reef Marine ReserveCarolina, off Isla Verde. A DRNA no-fishing order is in force
  • Tourmaline Reef, Abrir La Sierra and Bajo de CicoOff Mayagüez and Cabo Rojo. No anchoring, nets, traps or bottom longlines inside the boxes
  • Bajo de SicoAn offshore seamount west of Puerto Rico, mostly in federal waters. Reef-fish fishing closed 1 October to 31 March

Boat ramps

The 26 sea ramps OpenStreetMap's mappers have drawn, by town. Mappers name none of them and say little about who may use each: ask at the ramp or the nearest marina. Coast Guard ramps and the 10 on reservoirs are left out.

Ramp positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapped Oct 22, 2026.