Fishing in Puerto Rico is governed by two separate regulators, and the Puerto Rico fishing regulations that apply to your trip depend on where your line is in the water. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) controls Commonwealth waters out to nine nautical miles from shore.1NOAA’s National Ocean Service. What Is the EEZ? Beyond that line, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council manage the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) out to 200 nautical miles.2Caribbean Fishery Management Council. Regulations A single day’s trip can cross the boundary, and the rules for gear, catch, and closures change with it.
Licenses and Fees
Anyone fishing inside the nine-mile Commonwealth zone must hold a DNER license. Recreational holders agree not to sell or trade their catch. Commercial licenses require statistical reporting and proof of at least one year of legal residency in Puerto Rico.3Justia Law. Puerto Rico Code Title Twelve 25d – Fishing Licenses
Non-resident fees are set by statute. U.S. citizens who do not live in Puerto Rico pay $35 for an annual license or $7 for a one-week permit. Visiting foreign citizens pay $50 annually or $10 per week.4Justia Law. Puerto Rico Code Title Twelve 22 – Licenses Confirm current amounts with DNER before your trip; administrative surcharges may apply.
Federal waters are different. General recreational fishing in the EEZ does not require a permit.5NOAA Fisheries. Current Fishing Regulations – U.S. Caribbean The exception is highly migratory species. If you target tuna, swordfish, or billfish anywhere in the Atlantic, you need an Atlantic HMS Angling Permit. It costs $24 per year and is renewed through NOAA’s online system.6NOAA Fisheries. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit (Open Access)
Gear You Cannot Use
Trawl nets, trammel nets, and purse seines are prohibited in the EEZ around Puerto Rico. For reef fish, you also cannot use poisons, chemicals, powerheads, or gillnets.7eCFR. 50 CFR Part 622 Subpart S – FMP for the EEZ Around Puerto Rico Gillnets are separately banned for pelagic fish and spiny lobster.
Spearfishing is allowed in general, but spearfishing with SCUBA gear is prohibited for most species in both local and federal waters. The exception is invasive lionfish, which Puerto Rico encourages divers to remove. Spearfishing of any kind is banned inside DNER-designated marine reserves.
Trap and Buoy Markings
If you use fish traps or spiny lobster traps in the EEZ, every buoy must display the official number and color code assigned to your vessel by DNER.8eCFR. 50 CFR 622.434 – Gear Identification Unmarked traps or buoys can be seized and destroyed by federal authorities.
Species That Cannot Be Kept
Several species are permanently off-limits in the EEZ, regardless of size, season, or gear:
- Goliath grouper and Nassau grouper
- Blue, midnight, and rainbow parrotfish
- Queen conch
- Giant manta ray, spotted eagle ray, and southern stingray
- Coral, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins
The queen conch ban surprises visitors because conch fritters are common on local menus. The federal prohibition applies in the EEZ; conch served in restaurants comes from Commonwealth waters under DNER management or from imports. Accidentally taking coral is not treated as unlawful possession if you return it to the sea immediately in the general area you were fishing.9eCFR. 50 CFR 622.438 – Prohibited Species
Bag Limits, Size Minimums, and Landing Fish Intact
Recreational anglers in the EEZ face a combined daily bag limit for groupers, snappers, and parrotfishes: five fish per person, or fifteen per vessel when three or more people are aboard.10eCFR. 50 CFR 622.444 – Bag and Possession Limits Within that total, parrotfish are capped at two per person or six per vessel. Prohibited species do not count against the limit because you cannot keep them at all.
All size limits in the EEZ are minimums. Yellowtail snapper, for instance, must be at least 12 inches total length.11eCFR. 50 CFR 622.441 – Size Limits Undersized fish must be released immediately with as little harm as possible, and the vessel operator is responsible for compliance.
One rule catches out anglers used to filleting at sea. In the Caribbean EEZ, all finfish must be kept with head and fins attached from the moment of harvest until you offload ashore. The only exception is a personal-consumption allowance: you may clean and eat legal-sized fish on the boat if the fillets do not exceed 1.5 pounds of fish parts per person, you stay within your bag limit, and the vessel has cooking equipment aboard.12eCFR. 50 CFR 622.10 – Landing Fish Intact
Seasonal Closures
The EEZ has a rolling calendar of species-specific closures built around spawning periods. During a closure, you cannot fish for or possess the listed species.13eCFR. 50 CFR 622.439 – Area and Seasonal Closures
- February 1 through April 30: black, red, tiger, yellowedge, and yellowfin grouper
- April 1 through June 30: lane snapper and mutton snapper
- October 1 through December 31: black, blackfin, silk, and vermilion snapper
- December 1 through the last day of February: red hind, west of 67°10′ W. longitude
The fall snapper window covers four species at once and is easy to overlook when booking a trip.14NOAA Fisheries. Seasonal and Area Fishing Closures – U.S. Caribbean
Closed and Protected Areas
Three named federal areas off Puerto Rico’s coast carry their own closure schedules on top of gear rules that apply year-round:
- Bajo de Sico on the west coast is closed to all reef fish fishing from October 1 through March 31. Pots, traps, bottom longlines, gillnets, and trammel nets are banned year-round, and fishing vessels cannot anchor there at any time.
- Abrir La Sierra Bank is closed to all fishing from December 1 through the last day of February, with the same year-round gear bans.
- Tourmaline Bank follows the same seasonal and year-round restrictions as Abrir La Sierra.13eCFR. 50 CFR 622.439 – Area and Seasonal Closures
DNER designates its own marine protected areas and fishery conservation zones inside Commonwealth waters. The Luis Peña Channel Natural Reserve off Culebra is one of the better known; both commercial and recreational fishing are prohibited inside its boundaries. Violations can bring fines and confiscation of your vessel and gear.
Anchoring outside designated mooring buoys is prohibited in reef recovery zones and other sensitive areas identified by DNER, and dropping anchor on a coral reef without authorization carries administrative fines.15Justia Law. Puerto Rico Code Title Twelve 241f – Administrative Fines
Spiny Lobster
Spiny lobster in the EEZ has its own set of restrictions. You cannot harvest lobster with spears, hooks, or any piercing device, and possessing a speared lobster creates a legal presumption that you violated the rule.7eCFR. 50 CFR Part 622 Subpart S – FMP for the EEZ Around Puerto Rico Egg-bearing lobsters must be returned to the water unharmed, and you cannot strip or scrape eggs off to make one appear legal.16eCFR. 50 CFR 622.445 – Other Harvest Restrictions An egg-bearing lobster pulled up in a trap may be retained only long enough to put the trap back in the water. Traps must display the same vessel number and DNER color code as fish traps.8eCFR. 50 CFR 622.434 – Gear Identification
Penalties for Violations
Enforcement runs from both sides of the jurisdictional line. Under Puerto Rico law, violating fishing regulations is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 to $500, up to six months in jail, or both. DNER can also impose administrative fines based on the market value of each specimen taken illegally, running from $50 per specimen for low-value catches up to $5,000 per specimen for high-value species, with a total cap of $25,000.17Justia Law. Puerto Rico Code Title Twelve 107t – Penalties
Federal penalties are steeper. Violations in the EEZ fall under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which authorizes civil penalties up to $189,427 per violation. NOAA weighs whether the conduct was accidental or deliberate; an unintentional first offense may draw a penalty in the low thousands, while an intentional violation involving a prohibited species can reach $120,000 or more before hitting the statutory cap. NOAA can also seize vessels and gear used in the violation.