Recreational fishing rules in Catalonia

Government of Catalonia · Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food

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

Today in Catalonia

No closed seasons for fish in force for recreational fishing.

Licences

SurfaceShoreBoat
From shore or from a boat. Only valid together with your ID card or equivalent.
SpearfishingSpearfishing
A specific licence for free-diving spearfishing.

Age and requirements: The licence is only valid with your ID card or equivalent.

Get the licence

Bag limits

10 kg of fish, 5 kg of cephalopods and 150 sea urchins per licence per day.
Plus per-species quotas: for example 3 sea bass, 6 white seabream or 5 gilthead bream (7 in Tarragona) per person per day.
Crustaceans (including blue crab) and bivalves are banned, as are protected species like the triton shell, noble pen shell and date mussel.

Closed seasons

Sea bass15 January to 15 FebruaryGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Greater amberjack1 June to 31 JulyGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Dusky grouper15 July to 31 AugustGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Brown meagre1 July to 31 AugustGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Octopus (Barcelona)1 August to 30 SeptemberResolució ARP/3311/2025 (comarques de Barcelona)
Octopus (Girona)1 July to 31 AugustResolució ARP/3253/2024 (comarques de Girona)
Octopus (Tarragona)1 July to 31 AugustResolució ARP/3310/2025 (comarques de Tarragona)
Red porgy (Girona)1 April to 30 AprilResolució ARP/3253/2024 (comarques de Girona)
Black seabream (Girona)1 March to 30 AprilResolució ARP/3253/2024 (comarques de Girona)
Mahi-mahi1 January to 14 AugustGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Leerfish1 April to 30 JuneGeneralitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa
Shi drum (Barcelona)1 June to 30 JuneResolució ARP/3311/2025 (comarques de Barcelona)
Shi drum (Tarragona)1 June to 30 JuneResolució ARP/3310/2025 (comarques de Tarragona)

No-fishing zones or zones with their own rules

Fishing for or keeping sharks and rays is banned.
Cap de Creus Natural Park and Cadaqués bay: own rules (5 kg per licence per day; spearfishing only in zone A).
Pals and Roses bays: yearly closed season and per-boat limit for cuttlefish.

Tackle

Live bait (live fish or cephalopods) is banned.

Also

Sizes, quotas and closed seasons differ slightly between Girona, Barcelona and Tarragona: each province has its own resolution.

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 Catalonia. Fish are measured from the snout to the tip of the tail; squid and cuttlefish by the mantle.

European seabassPescaRECMin. 40 cm White seabreamMin. 25 cm GarfishMin. 25 cm European squidMin. 18 cm Sharpsnout seabreamMin. 25 cm BluefishMin. 40 cm Gilthead seabreamMin. 30 cm Thicklip grey mulletMin. 35 cm Atlantic mackerelMin. 28 cm Atlantic horse mackerelMin. 20 cm Striped red mulletMin. 20 cm Common solePescaRECMin. 20 cm ComberMin. 14 cm Saddled seabreamMin. 18 cm Common two-banded seabreamMin. 20 cm Little tunnyNo size limit Common octopusMin. 1 kg Red porgyMin. 18 cm Common pandoraMin. 23 cm BogueMin. 14 cm SalemaMin. 15 cm Common dentexMin. 40 cm Pearly razorfishMin. 15 cm Painted comberMin. 18 cm ForkbeardNo size limit Shi drumMin. 35 cm European congerNo size limit European barracudaMin. 60 cm Black seabreamNo size limit Common cuttlefishMin. 12 cm European hakePescaRECMin. 20 cm Sand steenbrasMin. 20 cm Annular seabreamMin. 15 cm PompanoNo size limit Greater amberjackNo size limit Spotted seabassNo size limit Bastard gruntNo size limit Mahi-mahiNo size limit Zebra seabreamMin. 30 cm LeerfishMin. 80 cm Greater weeverMin. 18 cm Red scorpionfishMin. 20 cm MeagreNo size limit Redbanded seabreamNo 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 109/1995 and size, quota and closure resolutions by district (2024–2027)

Official sources:Generalitat · Normativa de pesca recreativa Resolució ARP/3311/2025 (Barcelona) Resolució ARP/3310/2025 (Tarragona) Resolució ARP/3253/2024 (Girona) Real Decreto 214/2026 (PescaREC)