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  2. Sea angling in Norway
  3. Sea angling in Norway - regulations

Sea angling in Norway: regulations you should know

Some of the coastal fish stocks are under pressure. Regulations ensure that future generations will also be able to enjoy fishing for recreation in Norway.

For information in German, please read more here: 

Simple rules to follow when fishing in Norwegian sea waters 

  • Use hand held tackle only. (It is prohibited to fish species that you can only catch legally with other gear than handheld tackle.)

  • Follow the regulations for minimum fish sizes

  • It is illegal to sell your catch.

  • If you are born in or after 1980, you need a boating licence in order to operate a recreational craft of between 8-15 meters in length, or with an engine with a greater effect than 25 HP.

  • Users of recreational boats of up to 8 meters in length are required by law to use a lifejacket while the boat is in transit.

  • You must keep a distance of more than 100 metres from the closest fish farm when fishing. All boat traffic shall keep a distance of at least 20 metres from fish farms and moorings for fish farms.

  • Registered fishing camps are obliged to report catches to the fisheries authorities. Please contact the fishing camp to report your catch.

  • Release all halibut above 2 metres long

  • Tourists are not permitted to take part directly in catching king crab but a certain quota has been allocated to the tourist fishing industry in Finnmark.

  • Tourists with an approved marksman licence are permitted under certain conditions to take part in seal hunting on the coast, together with Norwegian citizens. Read more on seal hunting

  • Only tourists fishing from a registered fishing camp are allowed to bring  fish or fish products out of the country when leaving Norway. The limit of 18 kilos of fish or fish products can be exported out of Norway twice a year. Read more on export quota

  • It is not allowed to navigate a boat of up to 15 metres in overall length if you have a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of more than 0.08%, or a concentration of alcohol in the exhalation breath exceeding 0.4 milligrams per litre air.

  • Do not fish protected species - please see below. 

  • Respect wildlife and do not litter.

  • Respect the weather – it can change quickly.

Species protected all year

  • Spiny dogfish

  • Basking shark

  • Porbeagle

  • Blue ling

  • Lobster

  • Bluefin tuna

  • Silk shark

  • Eel

  • Wrasse

  • Cod (in the Oslofjord)

Species protected part of the year

  • Greenland halibut

  • Halibut

  • Lumpfish

  • Redfish

  • Cod: Fourteen areas from Lindesnes to the Skagerak coast, in the Oslofjord and to the border of Sweden from 1 January to 30 April.