Recreational fishing rules in Cantabria
Government of Cantabria · Fisheries and Food Directorate
Summary for guidance, checked on 23 October 2026. The official rules are what count: when in doubt, check the source.
Today in Cantabria
- No closed seasons for fish in force for recreational fishing.
Licences
1st classShoreBoat
From shore or from a boat. From age 16 (14 with consent); minors may fish with a licence holder.
2nd classSpearfishing
Free-diving spearfishing. From age 16, with an official medical certificate and a federation licence.
Age and requirements: 1st class from age 16 (14 with guardian consent); 2nd class from 16.
Apply to the Fisheries and Food Directorate of the Government of Cantabria.
Bag limits
- 5 kg per licence per day (or a single fish if heavier).
- Hake and albacore: 5 fish per licence per day and 20 per boat; declare them in PescaREC.Boat
- Octopus: 1 of at least 1 kg per licence per day, with a special temporary permit on top of the licence.ShoreBoat
- Only fish and cephalopods whose capture is not banned.
Closed seasons
- Cuttlefish15 May to 15 AugustOrden DES/06/2025 (veda de la sepia)
Also
- Bait collection has its own areas and limits set by order.ShoreBoat
- Distances from beaches, ports and professional gear: as set in Decree 45/2002 (check the rules).
- Licences from the State and other regions are valid in Cantabria, following its rules.
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 Cantabria. Fish are measured from the snout to the tip of the tail; squid and cuttlefish by the mantle.
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
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)25 February 2025 · Cantabria
The cuttlefish closed season returns to 15 May – 15 August.
Orden DES/06/2025 (veda de la sepia)4 March 2021 · Cantabria
New Cantabrian Sea Fisheries Act: 1st class licence (shore and boat) and 2nd class (spearfishing).
Ley 1/2021 de Pesca Marítima de Cantabria (BOE)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)19 July 2019 · Cantabria
Recreational octopus fishing allowed with a special permit: 1 octopus of at least 1 kg per day.
Decreto 99/2019 (pulpo)
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 45/2002 (annex IV, sizes) and Decree 99/2019