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Does anyone know the regs/laws on spearfishing for tourists? Thanks.

You cannot spear tourists on scuba and the tourist has to be > than 36 inches, limit of 4 tourists a day I believe (save for high season when there is no limit.)

:-)

Nice one SF Jeff!

That was funny!

It was funny but the truth is that to spearfish you are legally required to hold a fisherpersons license which you obtain from the Fisheries Department and which you cannot obtain unless you're a Belizean national. That is Fisheries position, if you choose not to abide that's up to you. Dude.

That's true Simon but then there is the Lionfish.
Fisheries and the SCUBA Diving community have made an exception for spearing Lionfish.
A specialized spear has been developed and rules have been lifted that allow divers and snorkelers to use a spear while visiting the reef. There is no limit or season. I bought 10 of these spears at Captain Sharks for our shop and the divemaster supervises the hunt. This seems to satisfy the tourist desire to spearfish in a positive way and also provides a tasty meal.

Correct you are.

This is a great option for spearfishing as Lionfish are non native and destructive to the Reef environment, edible and taste great. Otherwise visitor spearfishing is a disaster as targets specific species such as snapper and grouper and will wipe them out when theyre already under severe pressure from being fished out as the population grows.

is a license required for tourists to spear lionfish?