What visiting anglers can and cannot do, what the law actually says, and which widely repeated claims about fishing here are out of date.
You do not need a personal fishing licence as a visitor. Under the Fisheries Act (14/2019) the licence travels with the boat and its captain, so fishing through a licensed charter, resort or guesthouse covers you. Fishing independently, outside a licensed boat, is not permitted.
Spearfishing is banned nationwide. Recreational shark fishing is prohibited. Fishing in marine protected areas is prohibited. Nets over reefs, poison and explosives are all prohibited.
Shore and lagoon fishing is restricted rather than banned, and the rules are set island by island by the local council. Resort lagoons are off limits without the resort’s permission.
Everything a visiting angler actually needs, in one place.
Charters, resort excursions, guesthouse trips and liveaboards all operate under a licence held by the vessel or the business. That licence covers you as a guest. No separate paperwork, no personal permit, nothing to apply for.
The Act requires fishing in Maldivian maritime zones to be undertaken under a licence issued pursuant to it. Renting a boat and heading out on your own, or fishing from a vessel with no operating licence, is not permitted.
Regulation R-75/2020 lists the use of a spear gun to harvest, catch or attack fish among its prohibited activities. This applies nationwide, to everyone, with no tourist exemption. Do not bring a spear gun into the country.
Marine protected areas are closed to fishing. Many of the country’s best-known dive sites carry this status, and anchoring is restricted there too. Your skipper will know the boundaries. Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, carries additional protection.
Not banned nationally, but governed island by island. Under R-75/2020 the local council sets policy for fishing in its island’s lagoon waters, and there is a defined procedure for establishing where that lagoon area ends. On resort islands you need the resort’s permission. Ask locally before casting from a beach or jetty.
Destructive methods are prohibited outright. Only pole, line, handline and rod-and-reel methods are permitted for recreational fishing over reef.
A rule almost no visitor guide mentions. Within three miles of a fish aggregating device placed by the Ministry, no fishing method other than traditional Maldivian pole-and-line is permitted. The Ministry publishes the positions of its FADs. Damaging or altering one is also prohibited.
Marlin, sailfish and GT are released as standard practice on reputable boats. This is conservation convention rather than a blanket statutory ban on every species, but treat it as the rule. Keep the fish in the water for photographs where you can.
This is where most published guidance is now wrong. Search for fishing rules here and you will find page after page stating that all shark fishing has been banned for over a decade. That was true. It is no longer the complete picture.
The Maldives introduced a blanket ban on shark fishing in March 2010, building on earlier restrictions. That ban was lifted for one narrow purpose. From 1 November 2025, a limited commercial gulper shark fishery reopened under a Ministry of Fisheries framework, capped at 40 licensed vessels, permitted only in waters outside the atolls, and restricted to a season running 1 December to 30 June.
For visiting anglers, nothing has changed. The reopening applies to licensed commercial deep-sea vessels only. It does not extend to charters, resort excursions, guesthouse trips or liveaboards. Recreational shark fishing remains prohibited, and fishing any shark species other than gulper carries fines of up to MVR 100,000. Broader violations of the framework carry fines up to MVR 400,000. If you hook a shark accidentally, release it.
Two further developments worth knowing. Gulper sharks were added to CITES Appendix II in November 2025, which regulates international trade in the species. And the reopening has been challenged in the High Court, so the position may change again. We review this page quarterly.
These may not be fished, collected, killed or harmed in Maldivian waters. Several will surprise anglers who fish elsewhere, particularly parrotfish, which is a food fish in much of the Indian Ocean but protected here.
The full list of prohibited species sits in Schedule 2 of R-75/2020, and a separate Schedule 3 governs species that cannot be exported. Chapter 7 of the regulation prohibits harvesting, killing or retaining any Schedule 2 species on board within Maldivian maritime zones, and also applies to Maldivian vessels operating outside them.
Accidental catches. Hooking a protected species by accident is not an offence in itself. Release it carefully and as quickly as you can, and tell the crew. Where a prohibited species is taken as bycatch and reported properly, the regulation does not treat it as a violation.
Location matters more than method in Maldivian fishing law. The same technique can be entirely legal in one place and prohibited a few hundred metres away.
| Where | Status | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| Open ocean beyond the atoll | Permitted | Standard big game and offshore fishing water, subject to the three-mile FAD rule. |
| Atoll channels and outer reef | Permitted | Where most charter fishing happens, provided the area is not protected. |
| Marine protected areas | Prohibited | Fishing and anchoring restricted. Includes many named dive sites. |
| Resort house reef and lagoon | Permission needed | Off limits without the resort’s explicit approval. Most resorts protect their house reef. |
| Local island lagoon | Council governed | Policy set by the island council under R-75/2020. Ask locally. |
| Within 3 miles of a Ministry FAD | Restricted | Only traditional pole-and-line permitted. |
| Baa Atoll biosphere sites | Enhanced protection | Additional restrictions apply within the UNESCO reserve. |
The practical takeaway is simple. Book through a licensed charter and this stops being your problem, because the skipper knows which water is which. Our Maldives fishing charters page covers what to expect from a licensed boat.
Rods, reels, lures and terminal tackle are ordinary sporting equipment and travel as checked baggage. Carry them in a hard tube. Check your airline’s sporting equipment allowance before you fly, since it varies considerably. Spear guns are a different matter entirely and should not be brought.
Tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and permitted reef species can be kept. Most boats will fillet for you, and the majority of resorts and guesthouses will cook your catch, sometimes for a small preparation fee. Confirm before you go out rather than after.
Export of certain species and fish products is separately restricted under Schedule 3 of R-75/2020. Personal quantities of common food fish are generally not the issue, but if you intend to carry fish home, ask your skipper and check the destination country’s import rules, which are frequently the stricter of the two.
Working on a fishing vessel is different again. If you are joining a boat as crew rather than as a paying guest, foreigners need a work permit to work on Maldivian fishing vessels. Fishing as a guest on a licensed charter does not require one.
These rules are enforced, not decorative. The Ministry appoints Fisheries Rangers and Fisheries Observers with powers to collect data, monitor vessels and enforce the Act and its regulations, and it maintains a registry of parties conducting fishery in the Maldives.
Penalties vary by offence. Shark-related violations under the current framework carry fines of up to MVR 400,000, with up to MVR 100,000 for fishing a shark species outside the permitted gulper fishery. Violations inside protected areas such as the Baa Atoll biosphere reserve attract their own penalties.
In practice the risk to a visiting angler on a licensed boat is close to zero, because the boat carries the compliance burden and its captain knows the boundaries. The risk rises sharply if you fish independently, from a beach without checking, or from a boat that cannot show a licence.
No personal licence is required. Under the Fisheries Act (14/2019) fishing in Maldivian maritime zones must be conducted under a licence, and that licence travels with the boat and its captain. Booking through a licensed charter, resort or guesthouse covers you. There is nothing to apply for and no fee to pay as an individual.
No. Fishing must be undertaken under a licence issued pursuant to the Act, and that licence attaches to the boat and its captain rather than to the individual. Hiring a boat and fishing independently, or fishing from an unlicensed vessel, is not permitted. Fish from a licensed boat and you are covered.
It is restricted rather than banned. Local island councils set policy for fishing in their own lagoon waters under R-75/2020, so the answer varies island by island. On resort islands, fishing from the beach or lagoon requires the resort’s permission and is usually refused to protect the house reef. Always ask locally first.
For visitors, yes. Recreational shark fishing remains prohibited. A limited commercial gulper shark fishery reopened on 1 November 2025 for up to 40 licensed vessels working outside the atolls between December and June, but this does not extend to charters, resorts or tourists. Fishing any other shark species carries fines of up to MVR 100,000.
No. The use of a spear gun to harvest, catch or attack fish is listed among the prohibited activities in R-75/2020 and applies nationwide with no tourist exemption. Do not bring a spear gun into the country.
Yes for tuna, wahoo, mahi-mahi and permitted reef species. No for protected species, which include all sharks, rays, turtles, parrotfish, Napoleon wrasse and puffer fish among others. Billfish and giant trevally are released as standard practice. Most resorts and guesthouses will cook what you keep.
Yes. Rods, reels and tackle travel as checked sporting equipment, ideally in a hard tube. Check your airline’s allowance, which varies. Spear guns are prohibited and should not be brought.
There is no closed season for recreational fishing. Something is biting every month of the year. What changes is which species are running and which side of each atoll is sheltered. See our month-by-month season guide.
Sources. Fisheries Act of the Maldives (Law No. 14/2019); General Fisheries Regulation of the Maldives (Regulation No. R-75/2020), including Chapter 3 on lagoon fishing, Chapter 4 on lagoon area, Section 12 on prohibited activities, Chapter 7 and Schedules 2 and 3 on protected and export-restricted species, and Chapter 10 on Fisheries Rangers and Observers; Ministry of Fisheries gulper shark framework effective 1 November 2025; Ministry of Tourism protected species notices. Regulations change and are applied differently island to island. This page is a plain-language summary for visiting anglers, not legal advice. Confirm anything you intend to rely on with your skipper or with the Ministry of Fisheries. HolidayVibe Maldives is a Ministry of Tourism licensed travel agency, licence MOT.O1.RS.TA.25.RD9933. Last verified August 2026.
Every boat we book is licensed and every skipper knows which water is protected. Tell us where you are staying and what you want to catch, and compliance stops being something you have to manage.