Island Spear Co.

Regulations Guam

Spearfishing Regulations in Guam

Checked against the primary source (DAWR) on July 5, 2026territory

Governing agency: Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources (DAWR). Last verified July 5, 2026 by independent primary-source check.

Summary

Guam is a U.S. Pacific island territory with an entirely marine (coral-reef) spearfishing scene and no recreational fishing license of any kind — residents and visitors alike can breath-hold spearfish in open ocean waters without a permit. The single most important rule is that fishing with SCUBA or any self-contained underwater breathing apparatus was banned territory-wide in 2020, so spearfishing must be done on a single breath (freediving/snorkel); scuba spearfishing is illegal. Spearfishing is also prohibited outright inside Guam's five marine preserves, and sea turtles, marine mammals, and certain reef species are protected. Guam's freshwater fishery is tiny and hook-and-line only: 9 GAR Ch. 12 Art. 6 regulates it (a $50/year license for non-indigenous residents, peacock-bass bag/size limits) and expressly makes it unlawful to spear or impale peacock bass, so freshwater spearfishing of gamefish is illegal — the spearfishing regime is effectively saltwater.

License

What you need to be legal

Not permittedNo license specifically required
License
None for saltwater spearfishing — Guam has no recreational SALTWATER fishing license (a $50/year freshwater license exists but is irrelevant to ocean spearfishing)
Who needs it
No one, for recreational SALTWATER spearfishing — the entire spearfishing use-case. Guam Code Annotated Title 5 Chapter 63 creates only a commercial marine license, a free scientific/educational special license (§63123), fish-weir licenses (§63115), and coral-harvest permits (§63603) — there is no recreational saltwater fishing license in either statute or practice, so residents and non-residents alike may recreationally spearfish (by freediving) in open ocean waters without any license or permit 2. A commercial marine license is required to sell catch; scientific/educational take (and the only authorized route around the SCUBA ban) requires the §63123 special license from the DAWR Director; and taking inside a marine preserve requires a specific DAWR-issued permit where one is offered (s2, s3, s4). FRESHWATER (not saltwater): 9 GAR Ch. 12 §12602 DOES require a freshwater fishing license — $50 per angler per fiscal year for non-indigenous residents (indigenous natives of Guam born on or before 1940, plus their descendants and spouses, are exempt) — but this governs hook-and-line freshwater fishing only, and spearing/impaling the freshwater gamefish (peacock bass) is expressly prohibited, so it is not a spearfishing license 3. NOTE / CONFLICT: several non-authoritative spearfishing blogs (leads only) assert that 'non-residents need a Guam DAWR license to spearfish' in the ocean — but no recreational or non-resident SALTWATER spearfishing license appears anywhere in 5 GCA Ch. 63 or 9 GAR Ch. 12, so this claim is unsupported by any primary source and is treated as unverified; the code governs, and it creates no such saltwater license (s2, s3).
Resident cost
None for saltwater spearfishing — no recreational saltwater license exists 2. (A separate freshwater hook-and-line license is $50/fiscal year for non-indigenous residents; indigenous natives exempt — 9 GAR §12602 3.)
Non-resident cost
None for saltwater spearfishing — no recreational saltwater license exists; visitors need no permit to freedive-spearfish in open (non-preserve) ocean waters 2. (A non-indigenous visitor who wished to fish FRESH water by hook and line would need the $50 freshwater license 3.)
Where to buy
N/A for recreational spearfishing. Commercial marine licenses, special/scientific licenses, and marine-preserve permits are issued by the Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources, 163 Dairy Road, Mangilao, Guam 96913, tel. 671-735-0294/0281 (s1, s2).

Exemptions

  • Not applicable — there is no recreational license to be exempt from. (Commercial sale of catch requires a commercial marine license; scientific take requires a special license.)

The full story

The full story

Guam's spearfishing law has an unusual shape: there is nothing to buy and one big thing you cannot do. Unlike most U.S. jurisdictions, Guam requires NO recreational fishing license at all — the Guam Code creates only commercial, scientific, fish-weir, and coral-harvest licenses 2. So the law-vs-practice question is not about a dormant license (there is none); it is about a gear ban that is very much active.

In 2019 Senator Sabina Perez introduced a bill to ban fishing with SCUBA, framed around the collapse of reef-fish stocks and the efficiency of divers who could hunt fish on the reef indefinitely from tanks 6. It became real law: the Legislature passed Bill 53-35 by a 13-2 vote, and the Governor signed it on March 20, 2020 as Public Law 35-078, adding 5 GCA §63116.3 ('Fishing with SCUBA Devices') and the definition of 'SCUBA Diving' at §63101(dd) 5. (It is commonly mis-cited as §63111; §63111 is the unrelated nets-and-hooks section.) This is a genuine, in-force prohibition — not a paper rule — and it is a §63129(a) FELONY, so a diver who spearfishes off a tank in Guam waters is committing a serious crime. The only lawful exemption is a §63123 scientific/educational special license.

Crucially, the ban targets the breathing apparatus, not spearfishing itself. Breath-hold (freediving) spearfishing — historically a subsistence and cultural practice on Guam — remains fully legal in open ocean waters, with speargun, pole spear, or Hawaiian sling, and with no license (s2, s5). The other hard lines are spatial and biological: all five marine preserves are closed to spearfishing (§63116.2), and protected species (sea turtles, marine mammals, and the federally managed humphead wrasse and bumphead parrotfish) may never be taken (s2, s4, s8). The fine detail — reef-fish size limits and the exact permitted methods inside each preserve — lives in the DAWR regulations at 9 GAR Chapter 12, which a diver should pull fresh from DAWR before a trip.

Two things a diver should not get wrong. First, the 'license': a number of spearfishing blogs flatly state that 'non-residents need a Guam DAWR license to spearfish.' Independent review of the statute finds no such license — 5 GCA Ch. 63 creates only fish-weir, commercial-marine, scientific/special, and coral permits, and mentions spearfishing nowhere as a licensed activity. Unless and until DAWR points to an actual regulation, that blog claim is unconfirmed and the honest answer is that a visitor needs no permit to freedive-spearfish open (non-preserve) waters. Second, the penalties are steeper than a casual read suggests, and the 2023 amendments (P.L. 37-048) raised them further. A routine size-limit or gear violation under the 9 GAR fishing regulations draws a flat $500 fine per offense (§63129(d)) — but a marine-preserve violation is now a FELONY (§63116.2 as amended in 2023), and taking fish with explosives/poison/electricity, spearfishing on SCUBA (§63116.3), or possessing or trading shark fins or ray parts, is a FELONY punishable by up to 5 years or a fine of at least $1,000 per violation (§63129(a)); shark feeding draws a $25,000 administrative fine; and sea turtles and marine mammals sit under federal ESA/MMPA penalties on top of Guam law (s2, s8).

Where it's legal

Saltwater & freshwater

Saltwater

Legal

Legal and culturally important, but ONLY by breath-hold. Guam is a coral-reef island and spearfishing is a traditional food-fishing method. No recreational license is required 2. The decisive limit is gear/method, not a permit: it is unlawful to take any fish with a spear (or any other device) while SCUBA diving in the waters of Guam under 5 GCA §63116.3 ('SCUBA Diving' defined at §63101(dd)), added by P.L. 35-078 in 2020, unless authorized by a §63123 scientific/educational special license — so recreational spearfishing must be done freediving/snorkeling on a single breath (s5, s6). Spearfishing is banned inside all five marine preserves (s2, s4), and protected species may not be taken (s2, s8).

Freshwater

Not permitted

Freshwater SPEARFISHING is prohibited. Contrary to a common assumption, Guam DOES publish a freshwater fishing regime — 9 GAR Ch. 12 Article 6 (§12601-12602) — but it is hook-and-line only for the gamefish. §12602(b)-(c): the sole freshwater gamefish is peacock bass (Tucunare), bag limit 4/day and 10-inch minimum, and 'It shall be unlawful to puncture, impale or spear any peacock bass' (take limited to hook-and-line; nets and traps are restricted). Non-game fish (tilapia, catfish, prawns, freshwater eels) may be harvested without limit but no spearing method is authorized for them either. A freshwater fishing license ($50/fiscal year) is required for non-indigenous residents (§12602(a); indigenous natives of Guam born on or before 1940, plus descendants and spouses, are exempt) 3. Practically the freshwater fishery is tiny: streams are small, and the one sizable impoundment, Fena Valley Reservoir, sits inside U.S. Naval Base Guam (Naval Magazine) with restricted access governed by base rules. Bottom line: there is no lawful freshwater spearfishing of gamefish on Guam 3.

Gear

What you can carry

Speargun
Allowed for breath-hold spearfishing in open (non-preserve) ocean waters — Guam does not restrict spear propulsion type; the restriction is on SCUBA, not on the type of spear (s2, s5). Spearguns may not be used inside the five marine preserves and may not be used while on SCUBA (s2, s5).
Pole spear
Allowed for breath-hold spearfishing in open ocean waters, same as spearguns — no propulsion-type restriction outside preserves 2. Prohibited inside marine preserves and while on SCUBA (s2, s5).
Hawaiian sling
Allowed for breath-hold spearfishing in open ocean waters; a Hawaiian sling is a hand-propelled spear and is treated as a spear (not separately named in the statute). The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Guam National Wildlife Refuge expressly lists 'spears' and 'Hawaiian slings' among methods permitted in its designated fishing units 7. Prohibited inside Guam's marine preserves and while on SCUBA (s2, s5).
Spearfishing on SCUBA
NO — this is Guam's defining rule. Under 5 GCA §63116.3 ('Fishing with SCUBA Devices') it is unlawful to take any fish with a spear or any other fish-taking device while SCUBA diving — where 'SCUBA Diving' is defined broadly at §63101(dd) as any apparatus containing compressed air or an air/gas mix, including SCUBA, Nitrox, surface-supplied air, and rebreathers. Enacted by P.L. 35-078:3, signed March 20, 2020 (s5, s6). Possession of SCUBA gear together with fish/spears in or near the water is prima facie evidence of a violation (§63116.3(c)), and the penalty is the §63129(a) FELONY tier. The ONLY exemption is authorization under a §63123 scientific/educational special license issued by the DAWR Director — there is no traditional/cultural or general recreational carve-out. All recreational spearfishing must be done on a single breath (freediving/snorkeling). (This is often mis-cited as §63111; §63111 is the unrelated nets/hooks section.)

Gear restrictions

  • No taking fish with a spear (or any device) while SCUBA diving anywhere in Guam waters — spearfishing must be breath-hold only (5 GCA §63116.3, def. §63101(dd); a §63123 special license is the only exemption) 5.
  • No spearfishing (or any take) inside the five marine preserves — 9 GAR §12202(b) expressly lists 'spear fishing' among prohibited preserve methods, and 5 GCA §63116.2 (as amended by P.L. 37-048, 2023) makes take within a preserve a FELONY except as specifically permitted by DAWR regulation (s2, s3, s4).
  • It is unlawful to kill, maim or injure any fish without a reasonable effort to retrieve it and count it toward the bag/creel limit (no wanton waste) — 5 GCA §63117 2.
  • Protected species may not be speared: sea turtles, marine mammals, and (federally managed) humphead/Napoleon wrasse and bumphead parrotfish; possessing/taking/trading shark fins (§63114.1) or ray parts (§63114.2) is a felony under Guam law (s2, s8).
  • Size limits and gear rules for reef finfish are set in 9 GAR Chapter 12 (the DAWR fishing regulations) — check current limits before diving 3.
  • Within the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Guam National Wildlife Refuge, only designated units are open to fishing and gill/surround nets are prohibited even where spears and Hawaiian slings are allowed 7.

Do not spear

Prohibited species

  • Sea turtles (green, hawksbill, etc.) — protected; may not be speared or taken (federal Endangered Species Act and Guam law) (s2, s8)
  • Marine mammals (dolphins, whales) — protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act; may not be speared 8
  • Humphead / Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) — a federally managed species of concern with a strict annual catch limit in the Western Pacific; effectively off-limits to recreational spear take 8
  • Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) — federally managed with a very low annual catch limit; effectively off-limits 8
  • Shark fins — 5 GCA §63114.1 makes it unlawful to possess, take, buy, sell, trade, transport, import or export shark fins in Guam (a felony under §63129(a)), with narrow exemptions only for a DAWR research license and for subsistence/traditional/cultural sharing; so while a shark is not itself a listed protected fish, its fins may not be kept or traded 2
  • Ray parts — 5 GCA §63114.2 makes it unlawful to possess, take, buy, sell, trade, transport, import or export ray parts in Guam (a felony under §63129(a)), with the same research and subsistence/cultural exemptions — do not spear rays for their parts 2
  • Giant clams (Tridacnidae) and trochus are regulated/seasonally restricted under 9 GAR Ch. 12 — confirm current status before taking 3
  • All marine life inside a marine preserve — no species may be speared or taken there except as specifically permitted (s2, s4)

Where you can't

Area restrictions

  • Guam's five marine preserves are NO-SPEARFISHING (and largely no-take) zones: Tumon Bay, Piti Bomb Holes, Sasa Bay, Achang Reef Flat, and Pati Point (s2, s4).
  • Sasa Bay preserve — all forms of fishing and collection are prohibited 4.
  • Tumon Bay preserve — spearfishing prohibited; only limited shore-based hook-and-line and seasonal talåya (cast net) for designated species are allowed 4.
  • Piti Bomb Holes and Achang Reef Flat preserves — spearfishing prohibited; limited trolling from the reef margin seaward and certain seasonal permits (e.g., talåya) may apply 4.
  • Pati Point preserve — spearfishing prohibited; limited shore hook-and-line and reef-margin trolling only 4.
  • SCUBA is banned in ALL of Guam's waters for spearfishing/fishing (5 GCA §63116.3), not just in preserves 5.
  • U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Guam National Wildlife Refuge (e.g., Ritidian) — only designated units are open to fishing under refuge rules; spears and Hawaiian slings are allowed in permitted areas, gill/surround nets are not 7.
  • Get current preserve boundary maps from DAWR before entering the water — preserve edges are not obvious from the surface (s1, s4).

Worth knowing

Notable rules, seasons & limits

  • Scuba spearfishing is ILLEGAL territory-wide and is a FELONY (§63129(a)) — spearfish on a single breath only. Guam banned taking fish with a spear while SCUBA diving in 2020 (5 GCA §63116.3, def. §63101(dd)) 5.
  • No recreational fishing license is required for anyone — residents or visitors — to freedive-spearfish in open ocean waters 2.
  • All five marine preserves are closed to spearfishing; know exactly where you are before you shoot (s2, s4).
  • Freediving/breath-hold spearfishing with speargun, pole spear, or Hawaiian sling is fully legal outside preserves (s2, s7).
  • Sea turtles, marine mammals, humphead wrasse, and bumphead parrotfish are protected — never spear them (s2, s8).
  • Guam is effectively a saltwater-only spearfishing destination; there is no meaningful public freshwater fishery 2.
  • Report violations to DAWR Conservation Officers (671-864-TOKA / 671-688-DAWR) 1.

What divers here typically use

Gear up for Guam spearfishing

Most divers working Guam'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

Fishing and spearfishing violations are enforced by DAWR Conservation Officers and prosecuted under 5 GCA §63129, whose CURRENT tiers (verified verbatim from the current code, as amended by P.L. 37-048 in 2023 — s2) are: FELONY (§63129(a)) — imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, OR a fine of not less than $1,000 per violation — for taking fish with explosives (§63104-05), poisons/intoxicants (§63106-07), electrical devices (§63108), §63109, or §63113, and for shark-fin (§63114.1), ray-part (§63114.2), and SCUBA-fishing (§63116.3) offenses. Note this is the current text; the fine is a $1,000 FLOOR (no stated ceiling), and imprisonment/fine are stated in the alternative ('or') — the earlier '$500 to $5,000 and/or up to 5 years' figure was from a superseded pre-2023 copy and has been corrected. Shark FEEDING (§63114.3) — forfeiture of a commercial marine license, vessel, or gear plus an administrative fine of at least $25,000 per violation (§63129(b)). Illegal coral take (§63606.1/§63606.2) — felony, up to 5 years or up to $100,000 or both (§63129(c)). 'ANY OTHER' violation of the Article or its supporting regulations, including a routine 9 GAR Ch. 12 size-limit or gear violation and a wanton-waste (§63117) offense — a fine of $500 for each offense (§63129(d)); note this tier no longer carries the old '$50-$500 and/or up to 90 days' misdemeanor language. MARINE-PRESERVE take (§63116.2) is now, by the text of that section as amended in 2023, a FELONY (not the misdemeanor the pre-2023 code implied); §63116.2 is not itself enumerated in §63129(a), so the precise imprisonment term is not spelled out in §63129 — treat a preserve violation as a felony and see humanReview. Separately, taking a species protected under the Guam Endangered Species Act (5 GCA Ch. 63 Art. 2) carries up to $250 for a non-commercial violation, or up to $5,000 and/or up to 3 years for a commercial violation, plus a 1-year license/permit suspension (§63209, s2); and sea turtles and marine mammals additionally carry heavy FEDERAL penalties under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act 8. Catch, gear, and vessels used in a violation are subject to seizure and forfeiture (§63128, s2).

Not yet independently confirmed — verify directly

  • Whether the $50 non-indigenous freshwater fishing license (9 GAR §12602) is actively issued and enforced in PRACTICE — the regulation is on the books, but Guam's freshwater fishery is minimal (mostly the Navy-controlled Fena Reservoir), so the license may be largely dormant. This does not affect saltwater spearfishing, which needs no license (law and practice).
  • The precise imprisonment term for a marine-preserve violation: §63116.2 (as amended by P.L. 37-048, 2023) declares take within a preserve to be a FELONY, but §63116.2 is not enumerated in the §63129(a) felony-penalty list, so the exact term is not spelled out in §63129 — a human/attorney should confirm how a §63116.2 felony is sentenced.
  • Whether Guam currently recognizes a SIXTH marine preserve, Anae Island: 9 GAR §12203's numbered list skips '(4)', and §12204(c) references 'Anae' alongside Piti/Sasa/Achang — the five named in this file (Tumon Bay, Piti Bomb Holes, Sasa Bay, Achang Reef Flat, Pati Point) are all no-spearfishing regardless, but the total count/Anae status should be confirmed with DAWR.
  • Exact current reef-finfish size/bag limits and the trochus/giant-clam (Tridacnid) harvest seasons under 9 GAR Ch. 12 Art. 3 — the chapter was retrieved and the marine-preserve, freshwater, and general provisions read directly, but not every per-species size table was transcribed; pull current limits from 9 GAR Ch. 12 (s3) before a trip.
  • The exact Guam-specific regulatory treatment (size/possession limits) of humphead/Napoleon wrasse and bumphead parrotfish — their protected/managed status is confirmed federally (WPRFMC/NMFS, s8); whether 9 GAR Ch. 12 sets a separate Guam limit was not fully transcribed.

Confirm these points directly with Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources (DAWR) 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.

  2. Source 2: 5 GCA (Guam Code Annotated) Title 5, Ch. 63 'Fish, Game, Forestry & Conservation' — CURRENT official code, Compiler of Laws, Judiciary of Guam (compilation dated COL 2025-06-04, updated through recent Public Laws). Anchor for: definitions (§63101, incl. (dd) 'SCUBA Diving'), no recreational saltwater fishing license (only §63115 fish-weir, §63122 wild-bird/animal, §63123 free scientific/educational special license, commercial marine license, §63603 coral), marine-preserve statute (§63116.2 — take within a preserve is a FELONY except as permitted, as amended by P.L. 37-048 in 2023), wanton-waste (§63117), shark fins (§63114.1) and ray parts (§63114.2), and the penalty tiers (§63129) and ESA penalties (§63209). Supersedes the older 2017 DOAG-hosted copy on penalties and the SCUBA provision.

    Retrieved July 5, 2026https://col.guamcourts.gov/sites/default/files/5gc063.pdf

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

Is spearfishing legal in Guam?
Yes — spearfishing is legal in Guam's saltwater, but it is not permitted in fresh water, subject to license, gear, species, and area rules. Legal and culturally important, but ONLY by breath-hold. Guam is a coral-reef island and spearfishing is a traditional food-fishing method. No recreational license is required.…
Do you need a license to spearfish in Guam?
No license is specifically required to spearfish in Guam, but other rules still apply. No one, for recreational SALTWATER spearfishing — the entire spearfishing use-case. Guam Code Annotated Title 5 Chapter 63 creates only a commercial marine license, a free scientific/educational special license (§63123), fish-weir licenses (§63115), and coral-harvest permits (§63603) — there is no recreational saltwater fishing license in either statute or practice, so residents and non-residents alike may recreationally spearfish (by freediving) in open ocean waters without any license or permit. A commercial marine license is required to sell catch; scientific/educational take (and the only authorized route around the SCUBA ban) requires the §63123 special license from the DAWR Director; and taking inside a marine preserve requires a specific DAWR-issued permit where one is offered (s2, s3, s4). FRESHWATER (not saltwater): 9 GAR Ch. 12 §12602 DOES require a freshwater fishing license — $50 per angler per fiscal year for non-indigenous residents (indigenous natives of Guam born on or before 1940, plus their descendants and spouses, are exempt) — but this governs hook-and-line freshwater fishing only, and spearing/impaling the freshwater gamefish (peacock bass) is expressly prohibited, so it is not a spearfishing license. NOTE / CONFLICT: several non-authoritative spearfishing blogs (leads only) assert that 'non-residents need a Guam DAWR license to spearfish' in the ocean — but no recreational or non-resident SALTWATER spearfishing license appears anywhere in 5 GCA Ch. 63 or 9 GAR Ch. 12, so this claim is unsupported by any primary source and is treated as unverified; the code governs, and it creates no such saltwater license (s2, s3).
Can you spearfish on scuba in Guam?
NO — this is Guam's defining rule. Under 5 GCA §63116.3 ('Fishing with SCUBA Devices') it is unlawful to take any fish with a spear or any other fish-taking device while SCUBA diving — where 'SCUBA Diving' is defined broadly at §63101(dd) as any apparatus containing compressed…
What can't you spear in Guam?
Protected or no-take species you may not spear in Guam include: Sea turtles, Marine mammals, Humphead, Bumphead parrotfish, Shark fins — 5 GCA §63114.1 makes it unlawful to possess, take, buy, sell, trade, transport, import or export shark fins in Guam, Ray parts — 5 GCA §63114.2 makes it unlawful to possess, take, buy, sell, trade, transport, import or export ray parts in Guam, Giant clams, All marine life inside a marine preserve — no species may be speared or taken there except as specifically permitted. Always check the full prohibited-species list and current seasons before diving, and confirm with Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources (DAWR).

Stay current

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Regulations shift between seasons. We re-check Guam'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 Guam Department of Agriculture, Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources (DAWR) before you dive.

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