Fishing Spot Japan

Fishing rules in Hiroshima

What Hiroshima adds on top of national law, and what we still do not hold for it. Rules stack downwards: the prefecture may restrict more than the nation, and a cooperative more than the prefecture. None may permit what a layer above forbids.

Legal gear

These are the gear a non-professional may use in Hiroshima’s sea areas. The list is exhaustive: anything not shown here may not be used at all, which catches out visitors who assume a speargun or diving apparatus is merely restricted rather than banned.

Hiroshima

×Trolling●▲Hand line & rod fishing●△Landing net●△Scoop net●△Cast net●Fishing spear (excluding harpoons)●Rake / clam tool●Hand gathering
○ Permitted● Permitted, but lights / fish-attracting lamps are prohibited△ Permitted, but not from a vessel※ Permitted, but chumming is prohibited▲ Permitted, but chumming from a vessel is prohibited× Prohibited
Source: https://www.jfa.maff.go.jp/j/yugyo/y_kisei/kisoku/todo_huken/index.htmlAs of 2026-03-31✓ checked 2026-08-25

If you are not a Japanese national

Under the Act on the Regulation of Fishing Operations by Foreign Nationals (Act No. 60 of 1967), recreational fishing by foreign nationals in Japanese waters is limited to 'gathering or catching of aquatic animals or plants on a minor scale'. What you may use depends on the size of the boat you are on.

Method / gearShore (no vessel)Vessel under 3 GTVessel 3 GT or more
Rod fishing, handlineyesyesguide-only
Landing net, scoop net, fishing spear, clam rake or knifeyesyesguide-only
Cast netyesnono
Trollingn/ayesguide-only

On a vessel of 3 gross tons or more, a foreign national may fish ONLY when the trip is run by a Japanese vessel under the control of a Japanese fisher — that is, a registered charter (yugyosen) or fishing boat. Most serious offshore boats are over 3 GT, so for offshore fishing a licensed Japanese guide is not a convenience. It is the law.

Up to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to ¥30,000,000, or both — for breaching the gear and method rules that apply specifically to foreign nationals.

This is national law and applies in Hiroshima exactly as everywhere else. It sits on top of the prefecture’s gear list above — you need to clear both.

Size limits and closed seasons

Hiroshima VERIFIED

Set by the Hiroshima Fisheries Adjustment Rules. These apply to everyone, not only to commercial fishers.

Applies to: Sea and inland. The source regulation covers both sea and inland waters. Cooperatives add further rules on rivers and lakes.

Closed seasons

Razor clam1 May – 31 JulAny size.
Sea cucumber1 Apr – 31 OctAny size. Also nationally protected.
Ajimo seagrass1 Sep – 31 JulAny size.
Sargassum seaweed16 Mar – 14 FebAny size.
Ayu (sweetfish)1 Jan – 19 MayAny size.

May not be taken at or under this size

Flathead grey mullet15 cm body length or under — closed 1 Feb – 31 Jul
Redlip mullet15 cm body length or under — closed 1 Apr – 31 Oct
Japanese sea bass10 cm body length or under — closed 1 Mar – 31 Jul
Rockfish (mebaru)3 cm body length or under — closed 1 Mar – 30 Sep
Japanese halfbeak7 cm body length or under — closed 1 Mar – 30 Sep
Konoshiro gizzard shad7 cm body length or under — closed 1 May – 30 Sep
Hard clam3 cm shell length or under — all year
Japanese eel30 cm total length or under — all year

Prohibited methods

  • Ikuno-jima SW waters, Osakikamijima — Taking any aquatic life at all (protected water, Rules art. 34)
  • Kuroshima E waters, Kurahashi, Kure — Taking any aquatic life at all (protected water, Rules art. 34)

Hiroshima pairs each size limit with a season rather than banning the size outright: undersized mullet, sea bass, rockfish, halfbeak and gizzard shad are protected only during the listed months. Hard clam and eel are the exceptions — those size limits run all year. The Seto Inland Sea Regulations apply on top, including the summer closure on small red seabream.

Source: Hiroshima Prefecture Fisheries Division — size limits and closed seasons at sea, under the Seto Inland Sea Fisheries Control Regulations and the Hiroshima Fisheries Adjustment Rules (arts. 34, 35, 36, 40). https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/soshiki/88/1170384237453.html✓ checked 2026-08-27

Cooperatives that sell a permit online

4 in Hiroshima. Buying before you travel matters: on many rivers the price doubles if you buy it on the bank.

Yahatagawa Fishery Cooperative

Buy permit →

Tojogawa Fishery Cooperative

Lure OK
Buy permit →

Minochigawa

Buy permit →

Gonokawa Fishery Cooperative

Buy permit →

Places we list here

What we do not hold, and who to ask

Being explicit about the gap is the point of this page. What is missing:

  • Sea-area and inland committee directives, which close specific waters or periods. We hold these for a few prefectures only.
  • Port and municipal rules. Posted on signs at the water, in Japanese, and published nowhere centrally.

Hiroshima Inland Fisheries Federation
082-249-1185

National rules apply on top of everything here — see Before you fish. How every figure is graded is set out in Data & sources.