Recreational fishing rules in Atlantic Andalusia

Regional Government of Andalusia · Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development

Summary for guidance, checked on 23 October 2026. The official rules are what count: when in doubt, check the source.

Today in Atlantic Andalusia

No closed seasons for fish in force for recreational fishing.

Licences

Recreational sea fishing licence
Issued by the Junta for the mode you practise: shore, boat or spearfishing.

Age and requirements: Under-14s may fish from the surface with a licensed adult and written parental consent.

Apply through the Junta de Andalucía's electronic registry. It can last 1 day, 3 days, 1 month or 1, 2 or 3 years.

Bag limits

5 kg per licence per day (4 kg gutted), not counting one fish; with cephalopods only, 6 pieces.
More than 5 licences on board: 25 kg per boat per day.Boat
Octopus, sea urchins, snakelocks anemones, sea cucumbers and bivalves are banned in inner waters.

Closed seasons

No closed seasons for fish specific to recreational fishing in the rules we checked.

Hours · Distances

Surface fishing: any time, every day.ShoreBoat
Spearfishing: every day, sunrise to sunset.Spearfishing
Boats: 300 m from professional boats under 12 m and 926 m (half a mile) from larger ones; 500 m from pole-and-line tuna fishing, 148 m from their gear and 200 m from aquaculture.Boat
Spearfishing: 250 m from people on the beach, bathing areas, ports and navigation channels, and from professional gear and boats; red or orange buoy with an Alpha flag.Spearfishing

No-fishing zones or zones with their own rules

Banned in aquaculture areas and in prohibited, reserved or restricted coastal zones; fishing reserves and artificial reefs have their own rules.

Tackle

From shore: up to 6 hooks across 2 rods per licence.Shore
From boats: up to 6 hooks on 2 rods or handlines per licence; each squid jig, double or treble hook and each lure counts as one hook.Boat
Spearfishing: hand or mechanical speargun; hand torch, gaff and boat hook allowed.Spearfishing
Artificial lights to attract fish are banned.

Also

Catches are landed whole (at most gutted or scaled) and marked with a cut in the lower lobe of the tail; squid and cuttlefish by cutting off a fin.
Boats must register every year on the Junta's recreational fishing boat list (also via its app).Boat

All along the coast

Sea bass, pollack, sole, hake and albacore, among others: log every catch in the PescaREC app within 24 hours, including those you release.
Selling or trading your catch is banned.
If a fish is under the minimum size, return it alive.

Minimum sizes

Common species in Atlantic Andalusia. Fish are measured from the snout to the tip of the tail; squid and cuttlefish by the mantle.

European seabassPescaRECMin. 36 cm White seabreamNo size limit GarfishMin. 25 cm European squidNo size limit Spotted seabassNo size limit Gilthead seabreamMin. 19 cm Thicklip grey mulletMin. 20 cm Atlantic mackerelMin. 20 cm Atlantic horse mackerelMin. 15 cm Striped red mulletMin. 15 cm PoutingNo size limit Common solePescaRECMin. 24 cm ComberNo size limit Common two-banded seabreamNo size limit Sharpsnout seabreamNo size limit Common octopusBanned Red porgyMin. 15 cm Common pandoraNo size limit BogueMin. 11 cm SalemaMin. 15 cm Wedge soleMin. 15 cm LeerfishNo size limit European congerMin. 58 cm European barracudaNo size limit BluefishNo size limit Black seabreamMin. 23 cm Common cuttlefishNo size limit European hakePescaRECMin. 27 cm Saddled seabreamNo size limit Sand steenbrasNo size limit Annular seabreamNo size limit PompanoNo size limit Greater amberjackNo size limit Little tunnyNo size limit MeagreNo size limit Common dentexNo size limit Bastard gruntNo size limit Pearly razorfishNo size limit Painted comberNo size limit Zebra seabreamNo size limit ForkbeardNo size limit Redbanded seabreamNo size limit Shi drumNo size limit Greater weeverNo size limit Red scorpionfishNo size limit Mahi-mahiNo size limit Grey triggerfishNo size limit

See the species guide

Offshore: national rules

Beyond the baselines (the straight line joining the headlands) the waters are outer waters, ruled by Royal Decree 347/2011.

Licences are still issued by a region; from shore you follow the rules of the region whose coast you fish.
Sea bass: 42 cm in the Cantabrian Sea and Northwest.
From boats: handline, rod, trolling line, volantín and squid jig; at most 2 electric reels per boat.Boat
300 m from professional fishing boats (500 m from pole-and-line tuna fishing), 148 m from their gear and 200 m from aquaculture sites.BoatSpearfishing
Attracting fish is banned, especially with lights, except chumming with small pelagics.BoatSpearfishing
Spearfishing: free-diving by day only, buoy within 25 m, speargun unloaded out of the water and no diving gear on board; lights (except a hand torch) and scooters banned.Spearfishing
Species under special protection (annex II): the boat needs an authorisation from the General Secretariat for Fisheries.Boat

Official sources:Real Decreto 347/2011 (aguas exteriores) Real Decreto 2510/1977 (líneas de base rectas)

Recent changes

The latest changes to recreational fishing rules on the coast.

20 March 2026 · Spain
PescaREC becomes mandatory: sea bass, pollack, sole, hake and albacore must be logged within 24 hours, even when released.
Real Decreto 214/2026 (PescaREC)
28 July 2020 · Spain
Sea bass: 42 cm minimum size for recreational fishing in the Cantabrian Sea and Northwest.
Real Decreto 347/2011 (aguas exteriores)

Every morning we check the Spanish Official Gazette and the official bulletins of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands for changes; the other regions' rules are reviewed by hand periodically.

Rules: Decree 205/2023 (sizes: EU Regulation 2019/1241 and Royal Decree 560/1995, Gulf of Cádiz)

Official sources:Decreto 205/2023 de pesca marítima recreativa (BOJA) Real Decreto 560/1995 (tallas mínimas por caladero) Reglamento (UE) 2019/1241 (tallas de referencia) Real Decreto 214/2026 (PescaREC)