Fishing rules in Hyogo

What Hyogo 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 Hyogo’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.

Hyogo 兵庫県

×Trolling×Fishing spear (excluding harpoons)○▲Hand line & rod fishing●△Landing net¹⁹●△Scoop net¹⁹●△Cast net●△Rake / clam tool⁴⁰○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

Footnotes that apply in Hyogo

These are the prefecture’s own qualifications on the marks above, quoted from the source table in Japanese.

19 漁船登録された動力漁船を除く。
40 熊手（幅20ｃｍ以下で網が付いていないもの）、又は移植ごて（最長の部分が40cm以下のもの）に限る。

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 / gear	Shore (no vessel)	Vessel under 3 GT	Vessel 3 GT or more
Rod fishing, handline	yes	yes	guide-only
Landing net, scoop net, fishing spear, clam rake or knife	yes	yes	guide-only
Cast net	yes	no	no
Trolling	n/a	yes	guide-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 Hyogo 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

Hyogo 兵庫県 VERIFIED

Set by the Hyogo Fisheries Adjustment Rules (arts. 32–37, 39) and the Seto Inland Sea Fisheries Control Regulations (art. 6).

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

Closed seasons

Red seabream, 12 cm total length or underまだい（全長12cm以下）	1 Jul – 30 Sep	Under the Seto Inland Sea Fisheries Control Regulations.
Grey mullet, 20 cm total length or underぼら（全長20cm以下）	1 Apr – 31 Aug	Off Awaji Island the window runs 1 Apr – 31 Dec.
Ayu (sweetfish)あゆ	1 Jan – 25 May
Itabogaki oysterいたぼがき	1 Apr – 31 Oct
Hen clamばか貝	1 Apr – 31 Oct
Purple Washington clamうちむらさき	1 Jun – 31 Oct
Geoduck (mirugai)みるくい	1 Jun – 31 Oct
Pen shellたいらぎ	1 Jun – 31 Oct
Sea cucumberなまこ	1 May – 31 Oct	Recreational anglers may not take sea cucumber at all, at any size or season.

May not be taken at or under this size

Amberjack (juvenile, mojako)ぶり（もじゃこ）	15 cm total length or under
Japanese eelうなぎ	20 cm total length or under
Common octopusまだこ	100 g or under (by weight)
Abaloneあわび	9 cm shell length or under	Recreational anglers may not take abalone at all, at any size or season.
Horned turbanさざえ	2.5 cm operculum diameter or under
Manila clamあさり	2.5 cm shell length or under
Hard clamはまぐり	5 cm shell length or under
Geoduck (mirugai)みるくい	10 cm shell length or under
Pen shellたいらぎ	20 cm shell length or under

Prohibited methods

Sea — Anything outside the permitted gear list (Rules arts. 36, 39) — and permitted gear can still be barred under certain conditions
Protected waters, juvenile nursery grounds, and areas closed by commission instruction — Taking any aquatic life at all
Harbour mouths — Casting and jigging — busy with vessel traffic and dangerous

Note the blanket rule: **recreational anglers may not take abalone or sea cucumber at all**, whatever the size or season — both are nationally protected as well. Common Fishery Rights cover almost the entire Hyogo coast, roughly 1–2 km out from the shore. Inside a Class 1 right, taking the species it names — octopus, abalone, turban shell and the like — can be prosecuted as infringement. Some areas also run their own local angling rules agreed between fishers and anglers.

Local committee instructions

The Seto Inland Sea Fisheries Control Regulations apply here on top of the prefectural rules — including the summer closure on small red seabream noted above.

Source: Hyogo Prefectural Fisheries Technology Institute — sizes and seasons that may not be taken, under the Hyogo Fisheries Adjustment Rules (arts. 34, 35, 37) and the Seto Inland Sea Fisheries Control Regulations (art. 6). https://www.hyogo-suigi.jp/fishing/manners/size_time/✓ checked 2026-08-28

Cooperatives that sell a permit online

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

Hyogotorautofuaundeshon

NPO法人兵庫トラウトファウンデーションshow this at the shop

Catch & releaseWinter

Buy permit →

Places we list here

Osaka Bay & Awaji IslandSaltwater · Kansai · 1 h to 1 h 30 from Osaka

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.

Hyogo Inland Fisheries Federation 兵庫県内水面漁連
078-341-8899
650-0012 神戸市中央区北長狭通5-5-12 県土地改良会館３Ｆ

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