Island Spear Co.

Regulations Alaska

Spearfishing Regulations in Alaska

Checked against the primary source (ADF&G) on July 5, 2026state

Governing agency: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). Last verified July 5, 2026 by independent primary-source check.

Summary

Spearfishing is fully legal in Alaska's vast salt waters. Under 5 AAC 75.028, a person who is completely submerged or swimming on the surface may use a spear or speargun in salt water to take fish, provided the tip carries no explosive charge and all seasons and bag/possession limits are observed 3. In fresh water the opposite is true: taking fish with a spear is prohibited unless a specific area regulation allows it, so game fish (salmon, trout, char, grayling) are rod-and-reel only, while northern pike may be speared statewide and certain nongame fish (whitefish, burbot, suckers) may be speared in designated interior fisheries and seasons (s2, s7). A sport fishing license is genuinely required and enforced 4.

License

What you need to be legal

LegalA license is required
License
Alaska Sport Fishing License
Who needs it
Residents age 18 and older and nonresidents age 16 and older who engage in sport fishing, including spearfishing, in fresh or salt water 5.
Resident cost
$20 annual 4
Non-resident cost
$100 annual; also $15 for 1 day, $30 for 3 days, $45 for 7 days, $75 for 14 days 4
Where to buy
Online at ADF&G (adfg.alaska.gov) and from ADF&G license vendors statewide 4.

Exemptions

  • Residents under age 18 need no license 5
  • Nonresidents under age 16 need no license 5
  • Alaska residents age 60+ qualify for a free lifetime Permanent Identification Card (PID) to sport fish 5
  • Resident low-income combined fishing/hunting/trapping license: $5 4
  • Resident sport fishing license for the blind: $0.50 4
  • Resident disabled veterans exempt from king salmon stamp 5

The full story

The full story

Alaska is one of the most permissive U.S. states for salt-water spearfishing, and there is no law-vs-practice gap on the core rules: 5 AAC 75.028 is an active, plainly written regulation that lets a submerged or surface diver use a spear or speargun in salt water for any species that is in season and within limits, so long as the tip has no explosive charge 3. Unlike many states that ban SCUBA-assisted spearfishing, Alaska's regulation only requires the diver be 'completely submerged or swimming on the surface' and does not prohibit SCUBA, so it appears allowed; in practice almost everyone freedives because the water is dangerously cold.

The sport fishing license is a genuine, actively issued and enforced requirement, not a paper formality: residents 18+ and nonresidents 16+ must carry one, and it is sold online and through vendors statewide (s4, s5). The real practical limits for spearos are therefore not licensing but WHERE and WHAT you spear. In fresh water the default is a total spear prohibition, lifted only by named area regulations, so the salmon, trout, char, and grayling that draw most anglers to Alaska are strictly rod-and-reel; only northern pike (statewide) and certain nongame fish like whitefish, burbot, and suckers (in designated interior fisheries and seasons) can legally be speared (s2, s7).

One important jurisdictional wrinkle: Pacific halibut, a marquee salt-water spearfishing target, is federally managed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, NOAA Fisheries, and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, not by the state. Federal sport-halibut gear rules independently allow a spear (or a single line with no more than two hooks), but halibut also carries its own size, annual, and charter/guided restrictions that a diver must check separately from the state regulations 6. Emergency Orders can also change seasons and limits on short notice by area 8.

Where it's legal

Saltwater & freshwater

Saltwater

Legal

Legal. Alaska has more coastline than all other U.S. states combined, and 5 AAC 75.028 expressly permits a person who is completely submerged or swimming on the surface to use a spear or speargun in salt water to take fish, subject to applicable seasons and bag/possession limits, so long as the spear/speargun is not tipped with an explosive charge 3. Common salt-water spearfishing targets include rockfish, lingcod, and Pacific halibut, each governed by its own seasons, size, and bag limits 8.

Freshwater

Legal

Restricted. Statewide, 'a person may not take fish in fresh water with a spear, unless permitted by the area regulations' 2. The blanket statewide exception is northern pike, which may be taken by spear unless an area regulation in 5 AAC 46-70 provides otherwise 2. In designated interior fisheries, whitefish, burbot, and suckers may also be speared or taken by bow and arrow in season (generally Sept 1-Apr 30 in parts of Alaska) 7. Game fish such as salmon, trout, char (Dolly Varden), and grayling may NOT be speared in fresh water (s2, s7).

Gear

What you can carry

Speargun
Legal in salt water. A speargun (a device with a mechanical release or trigger that propels a spear by elastic bands, compressed gas, or other mechanical propulsion) may be used in salt water while submerged or on the surface, if not tipped with an explosive charge (s1, s3). Not permitted in fresh water except where area regulations specifically allow spear gear 2.
Pole spear
Legal in salt water. ADF&G separately defines 'Hawaiian sling or pole spear' as a shaft propelled by a single loop of elastic material that is not equipped with a mechanical release or trigger (distinct from both the 'spear' and 'speargun' definitions) 1. As a hand-propelled spear with no explosive tip, it falls under the general salt-water spear allowance and no-explosive-charge rule of 5 AAC 75.028 3.
Hawaiian sling
Legal in salt water. ADF&G defines 'Hawaiian sling or pole spear' as a single-elastic-loop shaft with no mechanical release or trigger 1; as a spear device with no explosive tip it is permitted for salt-water take under 5 AAC 75.028 3.
Spearfishing on SCUBA
5 AAC 75.028 permits taking fish in salt water while 'completely submerged or swimming on the surface' and does not prohibit SCUBA, so SCUBA-assisted spearfishing appears permitted in salt water; most Alaska divers freedive because of extreme cold water 3. Verify area regulations for any local closure before diving.

Gear restrictions

  • No spear or speargun may be tipped with an explosive charge 3
  • Spears/spearguns are salt-water gear only; taking fish with a spear in fresh water is prohibited unless an area regulation allows it (s2, s3)
  • All applicable seasons, size limits, and bag/possession limits apply to speared fish 3
  • Anglers fishing for any species with an annual limit must record the harvest on a Sport Fishing Harvest Record Card (s5, s8)

Do not spear

Prohibited species

  • In fresh water, game fish may not be taken by spear: salmon (kings, coho, chum, pink, sockeye), trout (rainbow/steelhead, cutthroat), char/Dolly Varden, and Arctic grayling are rod-and-reel only (s2, s7)
  • King salmon less than 28 inches in salt water: retention prohibited 8
  • Any species during a closed season or beyond its bag/possession or size limit (s3, s8)
  • Halibut, rockfish, lingcod, Tanner crab, and king crab fisheries are not open year-round and are subject to season/limit closures 8

Where you can't

Area restrictions

  • Freshwater spearing is allowed only where a specific area regulation (5 AAC 46-70) permits it; the statewide default is a spear prohibition in fresh water 2
  • The Chatanika River has been closed to spear fishing since 1992 to conserve whitefish populations 7
  • Emergency Orders can supersede published seasons and bag limits at any time and by area (s7, s8)
  • Pacific halibut is federally managed; area and charter/guided restrictions apply in addition to state gear rules 6

Worth knowing

Notable rules, seasons & limits

  • Salt-water spearfishing is broadly legal statewide under 5 AAC 75.028, unusual among U.S. states in also implicitly allowing SCUBA 3
  • Pacific halibut may be legally taken by spear: federal (IPHC/NOAA/NPFMC) rules allow only a single line with no more than two hooks OR a spear for sport halibut 6
  • Northern pike may be speared statewide; in some personal-use fisheries speared pike, burbot, and suckers do not count against the whitefish bag or permit (s2, s7)
  • Interior whitefish/pike spear and bow-and-arrow fisheries typically run Sept 1-Apr 30 and vary by area 7
  • A King Salmon Stamp is required in addition to the license to target king salmon 4

What divers here typically use

Gear up for Alaska spearfishing

Alaska's water runs cold, so divers here tend to reach for a thicker open-cell wetsuit before anything else. Our honest guide to the Best Spearfishing Wetsuit walks through what to look for — curated from published specs and community consensus, not paid placement.

If you break them

Penalties

Sport fishing violations (fishing without a required license, spearing prohibited species or in prohibited fresh waters, exceeding limits, or fishing a closed season/area) are enforced by ADF&G and Alaska Wildlife Troopers and are generally charged as misdemeanors under Alaska's fish and game statutes (AS 16), punishable by fines, and can carry gear forfeiture and license/permit revocation. Specific fine amounts follow the Alaska court bail-forfeiture schedule and were not verified from a primary source here (see unverified).

Not yet independently confirmed — verify directly

  • Exact fine amounts and the Alaska court bail-forfeiture schedule (Rule 43.2) for specific spearfishing/sport fishing violations were not confirmed from a primary state source in this pass.
  • Whether specific salt-water areas (marine parks, refuges, harbor/pier/swimmer-distance buffers, or municipal ordinances) restrict spearfishing was not exhaustively checked; area regulations (5 AAC 46-70) and local rules should be verified per dive site.
  • Current-year (2026) rockfish, lingcod, and king salmon salt-water bag/size/season limits are set by region and by Emergency Order and were not enumerated; the SE salt-water PDF cited is a representative (2022) example.
  • SCUBA-assisted spearfishing is not expressly named in 5 AAC 75.028; permission is inferred from the regulation allowing take while 'completely submerged' with no SCUBA prohibition, but no explicit ADF&G statement confirming SCUBA was located.

Confirm these points directly with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) before you rely on them.

Primary sources

Sources

Every fact above is drawn from these official sources. Each was retrieved on the date shown; regulations can change after that date.

  1. Source 1: ADF&G - Statewide Definitions for Sport Fishing ('spear', 'speargun', Hawaiian sling, pole spear)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishregulations.sfdefinitions

  2. Source 2: ADF&G - Sport Fish Statewide Regulations (freshwater spear prohibition; northern pike exception)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo.whatiseo

  4. Source 4: ADF&G - License, Stamp, and Tag Pricing List (sport fishing license and king salmon stamp prices)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=license.pricinglist

  5. Source 5: ADF&G - Licenses General Information FAQ (age exemptions, senior PID, who needs a license)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=license.general

  6. Source 6: NOAA Fisheries - Sport Fishing for Halibut in Alaska (spear is legal sport-halibut gear; IPHC/NOAA/NPFMC authority)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/recreational-fishing/sport-fishing-halibut-alaska

  7. Source 7: ADF&G Wildlife News - Spear Fishing in Interior Alaska (whitefish/pike seasons, Chatanika River closure since 1992)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=198

  8. Source 8: ADF&G - Southeast Alaska General Regulations, Salt Water (year-round vs closed fisheries, king salmon size, harvest records)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/fishregulations/PDFs/southeast/2022se_sfregs_general_saltwater.pdf

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

Is spearfishing legal in Alaska?
Yes — spearfishing is legal in Alaska's saltwater, and it is permitted in fresh water, subject to license, gear, species, and area rules. Legal. Alaska has more coastline than all other U.S. states combined, and 5 AAC 75.028 expressly permits a person who is completely submerged or swimming on the surface to use a…
Do you need a license to spearfish in Alaska?
Yes. Alaska requires the Alaska Sport Fishing License. Resident cost: $20 annual Non-resident cost: $100 annual; also $15 for 1 day, $30 for 3 days, $45 for 7 days, $75 for 14 days
Can you spearfish on scuba in Alaska?
5 AAC 75.028 permits taking fish in salt water while 'completely submerged or swimming on the surface' and does not prohibit SCUBA, so SCUBA-assisted spearfishing appears permitted in salt water; most Alaska divers freedive because of extreme cold water. Verify area regulations…
What can't you spear in Alaska?
Protected or no-take species you may not spear in Alaska include: In fresh water, game fish may not be taken by spear: salmon, King salmon less than 28 inches in salt water: retention prohibited, Any species during a closed season or beyond its bag/possession or size limit, Halibut, rockfish, lingcod, Tanner crab, and king crab fisheries are not open year-round and are subject to season/limit closures. Always check the full prohibited-species list and current seasons before diving, and confirm with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G).

Stay current

Get an email when Alaska's size & bag limits change

Regulations shift between seasons. We re-check Alaska's rules against the primary source and send a short note when the limits, seasons, or licensing move — nothing else.

No spam. Regulations updates, gear data drops, and the launch of the guide.

Last verified July 5, 2026. Regulations change — always confirm the current rules with Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) before you dive.

← All regulations