Island Spear Co.

Regulations Delaware

Spearfishing Regulations in Delaware

Checked against the primary source (DNREC) on July 5, 2026state

Governing agency: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Division of Fish and Wildlife. Last verified July 5, 2026 by independent primary-source check.

Summary

Spearfishing is legal in Delaware's tidal (salt and brackish) waters. Under 7 DE Admin. Code 3564, any licensed recreational fisherman may, while submerged, use a spear propelled by a gun, mechanical, or pneumatic device to take any 'food fish' for which hook and line is already an authorized method — so there is no separate spear-only prohibited-species list, but every species' own season, size, and creel limits still apply. A general Delaware fishing license plus a free annual FIN number are required. In fresh (non-tidal) waters, game fish may NOT be speared (rod-and-reel only); only rough/invasive fish such as carp and northern snakehead may be taken by spear or bow.

License

What you need to be legal

LegalA license is required
License
Delaware General Fishing License (plus mandatory free FIN number)
Who needs it
Delaware residents age 16 to 64 inclusive, and all non-residents age 16 and older, must hold a general fishing license to take finfish (including by spear) in Delaware's tidal or non-tidal waters. The license covers both fresh and tidal waters and is also valid for recreational crabbing and clamming. Separately, ALL anglers age 16+ (including those exempt from the license) must obtain a free annual Fisherman Information Network (FIN) number before fishing.
Resident cost
$8.50 annual (resident fishing license, ages 16-64).
Non-resident cost
$20.00 annual, or $12.50 for a 7-day non-resident license.
Where to buy
In person at DNREC headquarters (89 Kings Highway, Dover), at more than 40 licensing agents statewide, or online through the DNREC recreational licensing system (dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/licenses/).

Exemptions

  • Delaware residents age 65 and older (still must obtain the free annual FIN number)
  • Delaware residents under age 16
  • Delaware residents who own or live on a Delaware farm of 20 or more acres, and their immediate family (still must obtain the free FIN number)

The full story

The full story

Delaware's spearfishing law is unusually clean and unambiguous, but it works differently from states like Florida. There is no enumerated list of species you may not spear. Instead, 7 DE Admin. Code 3564 grants a conditional right: while submerged in tidal water, a recreational fisherman may spear (by gun, mechanical, or pneumatic device) 'a species of food fish whenever a hook and line is authorized as legal fishing equipment to take said species' under the Department's tidal finfish regulations. In practice that means the spear inherits every restriction attached to hook-and-line take: seasons, minimum sizes, and creel limits all apply, and if a species is closed or protected, the spear right for it evaporates for that period.

On the license question there is no law-vs-practice gap to flag: Delaware's general fishing license is a real, actively sold, and enforced credential (resident 16-64 pay $8.50; non-residents $20 annual or $12.50 for 7 days), and on top of it every angler 16+ must carry a free annual FIN number — even the senior and farm-owner groups who are exempt from the paid license. Both are genuinely required in the field, not paper-only rules.

The freshwater picture is the classic split: game fish (bass, trout, pickerel, crappie, walleye, pike, muskie, sunfish, etc.) are rod-and-reel only and may never be speared, while rough and invasive fish can be. Carp is the sole gamefish-page species allowed to be taken by bow or spear, and DNREC actively encourages spearing and bowfishing of invasive northern snakehead (no season, size, or creel limit) — with the important caveats that live snakehead possession is banned statewide and that bowfishing/spearing is off-limits on Division of Parks and Recreation waters and wherever a local ordinance (such as Becks Pond in Newark) prohibits it.

Where it's legal

Saltwater & freshwater

Saltwater

Legal

Delaware is a coastal state with Atlantic Ocean shoreline plus Delaware Bay and the tidal Delaware River. Spearfishing is legal in these tidal waters for any recreational fisherman while submerged, using a spear propelled by a gun or a mechanical or pneumatic device, to take any food fish for which hook and line is an authorized method (7 DE Admin. Code 3564, s2). All species-specific tidal-finfish season, size, and possession limits (e.g., for tautog, black sea bass, summer flounder, striped bass) apply equally to spear-caught fish.

Freshwater

Legal

Spearing is restricted in non-tidal (fresh) waters. Game fish — largemouth and smallmouth bass, black and white crappie, rock bass, white bass, walleye, northern pike, chain pickerel, salmon, muskellunge and hybrids, hybrid striped bass, sunfish (Lepomis spp.), and trout — may NOT be speared; carp is the only species named on DNREC's gamefish page that may be taken with a bow and arrow or spear 4. Invasive northern snakehead may also be taken by spear, bowfishing, or hook and line, with no season, creel, or size limit 5. Bowfishing (and by extension spearing of these rough/invasive fish) is prohibited on properties managed by the Division of Parks and Recreation and anywhere a local ordinance bans it (e.g., Becks Pond in Newark).

Gear

What you can carry

Speargun
Allowed in tidal waters. 7 DE Admin. Code 3564 2 expressly permits a spear 'propelled by a gun,' which covers band-powered spearguns and pneumatic spearguns.
Pole spear
Allowed in tidal waters. The regulation 2 permits a spear propelled by 'a mechanical or pneumatic device'; a band/elastic-powered pole spear is a mechanically propelled spear and is covered. (DNREC does not name the pole spear individually; permissibility follows from the general 'mechanical device' language.)
Hawaiian sling
Allowed in tidal waters. A Hawaiian sling propels the spear with an elastic/mechanical device and is covered by 7 DE Admin. Code 3564's 'mechanical or pneumatic device' language 2. (Not named individually by DNREC; permissibility follows from the general definition.)
Spearfishing on SCUBA
Not prohibited. The spear-fishing regulation requires the fisherman to be 'submerged in the tidal waters' 2, which inherently contemplates diving; DNREC imposes no ban on SCUBA or free diving for spearfishing. No affirmative 'SCUBA is allowed' sentence exists — this rests on absence of prohibition.

Gear restrictions

  • Spearing under 7 DE Admin. Code 3564 applies to TIDAL waters and requires the fisherman to be submerged.
  • A spear may take only 'food fish' for which hook and line is an authorized method under the Department's tidal finfish regulations — spearing does not override any species' season, size, or creel limits.
  • Inside a permitted Delaware artificial reef site, finfish may be taken only by hook and line or spear (7 DE Admin. Code 3560, s3) — spear is permitted, but other gear (nets, etc.) is not.
  • In non-tidal (fresh) waters, spears/bows may be used only for carp and northern snakehead (and other non-game/rough species) — never for game fish (s4, s5).

Do not spear

Prohibited species

  • Freshwater GAME FISH may not be speared (rod-and-reel / hook-and-line only): largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, black crappie, white crappie, rock bass, white bass, walleye, northern pike, chain pickerel, salmon, muskellunge and hybrids, hybrid striped bass, sunfish (Lepomis spp.), and trout 4.
  • In tidal waters, any species for which hook and line is NOT an authorized method of take may not be speared (spear legality is tied to hook-and-line authorization under 7 DE Admin. Code 3564, s2).
  • Any species under a harvest moratorium or prohibited-possession rule (e.g., Atlantic sturgeon and shortnose sturgeon, which are federally endangered) may not be taken by any method, including spear — see unverified note.

Where you can't

Area restrictions

  • Permitted artificial reef sites under Delaware jurisdiction: finfish may be taken only by hook and line or spear; all other methods are unlawful (7 DE Admin. Code 3560, s3). Reef coordinates are on NOAA charts 12304 and 12214 and in DNREC's Artificial Reef Guide.
  • Bowfishing — and spearing of snakehead/carp — is prohibited on properties managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation, and anywhere prohibited by local ordinance (e.g., Becks Pond in Newark) 5.
  • Spearing under 7 DE Admin. Code 3564 is limited to tidal waters; game-fish spearing is prohibited throughout non-tidal waters (s2, s4).

Worth knowing

Notable rules, seasons & limits

  • Delaware has no separate 'prohibited to spear' species list. Instead, spear legality is derived by cross-reference: you may spear a food fish in tidal water only if hook and line is an authorized method for that species — so always check the current tidal finfish season/size/creel rule for your target 2.
  • The spear-fishing right explicitly extends to spearguns ('propelled by a gun') and to mechanical or pneumatic devices 2.
  • A general Delaware fishing license AND a free annual FIN number are both required; even license-exempt anglers (seniors 65+, qualifying farm owners) must still get the FIN number each year 6.
  • Live northern snakehead may not be transported, purchased, sold, stocked, or possessed in Delaware (2013 regulation) — a speared or landed snakehead must be killed, not kept alive 5.
  • Popular tidal spearfishing targets on Delaware wrecks and reefs — tautog, black sea bass, and summer flounder — each carry their own seasons and limits that apply to spear-caught fish; tautog, black sea bass, and summer flounder also may not be retained from a crab pot or dredge under the same code chapter, underscoring how tightly these three species are regulated (s2, s3).

What divers here typically use

Gear up for Delaware spearfishing

Most divers working Delaware's coast start with a band speargun sized to the water and the fish they are after. Our honest guide to the Best Speargun for Beginners walks through what to look for — curated from published specs and community consensus, not paid placement.

If you break them

Penalties

Spear-fishing violations carry the penalty expressly named in the regulation itself: 7 Del.C. §936(b)(2) — the reg text reads '(Penalty Section 7 Del.C. §936(b)(2))' (s2, s8). Under §936(b)(2), a violation of a Department finfishing regulation other than the enumerated equipment/method statutes is a Class D environmental violation. Per 7 Del.C. §1304, a Class D environmental violation is NOT a criminal offense and carries a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100 (plus costs of prosecution and court costs) for a first offense, escalating to not less than $100 nor more than $500 for a subsequent Class-D-or-greater conviction within five years 9. NOTE: the steeper escalation that ends in a Class B environmental misdemeanor ($250–$1,000 and/or up to 30 days) applies to §936(b)(1) equipment/method violations of the specific enumerated statutes, NOT to spear-fishing, which the regulation assigns to (b)(2). DNREC Fish and Wildlife Natural Resources Police enforce, and illegally used gear and catch may be seized and forfeited 8.

Not yet independently confirmed — verify directly

  • RESOLVED for striped bass on QA review (2026-07-05): 7 DE Admin. Code 3503 §3.0 expressly makes it 'unlawful for any recreational fisherman to take or attempt to take any striped bass from the tidal waters of this State with any fishing equipment other than a hook and line or a spear while said recreational fisherman using the spear is underwater' — so Delaware's marquee tidal species is affirmatively spearable underwater, subject to its 28–31 inch slot and 2-fish creel (s10). Weakfish and other individual tidal species' method rules were still not each reviewed this session; by the letter of 3564 they appear spearable wherever hook and line is authorized, but confirm the specific species reg before targeting.
  • The Atlantic sturgeon / shortnose sturgeon take prohibition is a federal Endangered Species Act protection (take prohibited by any method); it was not pulled from a Delaware primary-source page during this session and is included on that widely established basis.
  • Availability of a resident short-term (e.g., resident 7-day/tourist) fishing license was not confirmed; only the resident annual license ($8.50) and non-resident annual/7-day fees were verified on the DNREC fee page.
  • RESOLVED on independent review (2026-07-05): the first-offense penalty for a spear-fishing violation is now confirmed. The regulation cites 7 Del.C. §936(b)(2), which makes it a Class D environmental violation, and 7 Del.C. §1304 (s9) sets that at a $50–$100 fine (non-criminal) for a first offense, $100–$500 for a repeat within 5 years. The earlier draft's Class C/Class B escalation applies to §936(b)(1) equipment/method violations of enumerated statutes, not to spear-fishing under (b)(2) — corrected in the penalties field.

Confirm these points directly with Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Division of Fish and Wildlife 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: DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife — agency home

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/

  2. Source 2: 7 DE Admin. Code 3564 'Spear Fishing' (official Delaware Administrative Code, Title 7, tidal finfish) — verbatim rule

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title7/3000/3500/3564.shtml

  3. Source 3: 7 DE Admin. Code 3560 'Equipment and Fishing Gear' — permitted artificial reef sites (hook and line or spear only)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title7/3000/3500/3560.shtml

  4. Source 4: DNREC — Gamefish and Freshwater Fishing Restrictions (game fish list; carp may be taken by bow/spear)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/fishing/gamefish/

  5. Source 5: DNREC — Angler Alert: Snakeheads (bowfishing/spear legality; live-possession ban; Division of Parks bowfishing prohibition; Becks Pond)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/fishing/invasive-species/snakeheads/

  6. Source 6: DNREC — Questions and Answers: Delaware Fishing Licenses (who needs a license, senior/farm exemptions, mandatory FIN number)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/licenses/fishing-license-questions/

  7. Source 7: DNREC — Recreational License Fees (resident and non-resident fishing license costs)

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://dnrec.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/licenses/fees/

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

Is spearfishing legal in Delaware?
Yes — spearfishing is legal in Delaware's saltwater, and it is permitted in fresh water, subject to license, gear, species, and area rules. Delaware is a coastal state with Atlantic Ocean shoreline plus Delaware Bay and the tidal Delaware River. Spearfishing is legal in these tidal waters for any recreational…
Do you need a license to spearfish in Delaware?
Yes. Delaware requires the Delaware General Fishing License (plus mandatory free FIN number). Resident cost: $8.50 annual (resident fishing license, ages 16-64). Non-resident cost: $20.00 annual, or $12.50 for a 7-day non-resident license.
Can you spearfish on scuba in Delaware?
Not prohibited. The spear-fishing regulation requires the fisherman to be 'submerged in the tidal waters', which inherently contemplates diving; DNREC imposes no ban on SCUBA or free diving for spearfishing. No affirmative 'SCUBA is allowed' sentence exists — this rests on…
What can't you spear in Delaware?
Protected or no-take species you may not spear in Delaware include: Freshwater GAME FISH may not be speared, In tidal waters, any species for which hook and line is NOT an authorized method of take may not be speared, Any species under a harvest moratorium or prohibited-possession rule. Always check the full prohibited-species list and current seasons before diving, and confirm with Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Stay current

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

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Last verified July 5, 2026. Regulations change — always confirm the current rules with Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Division of Fish and Wildlife before you dive.

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