Fishing rules in Nagano

Legal gear

We have not transcribed Nagano’s gear table yet.

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.

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 Nagano 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

We have not transcribed Nagano’s minimum sizes and closed seasons yet. That is a gap in this page, not an absence of rules — every prefecture sets them, and taking an undersized fish is an offence whether or not we list the figure. Ask the prefecture or the cooperative before you keep anything.

Cooperatives that sell a permit online

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

Who holds the fishing right

31 cooperatives on record in Nagano, from the fifth-class fishery rights and permit rules the prefecture publishes by law. A right names the waters and the species it covers — outside that list no cooperative permit is required, though national and prefectural rules still are.

• Minami-Saku Nanbu Fishery Cooperative 南佐久南部漁業協同組合内共第1号0267-92-2167
• Saku Fishery Cooperative 佐久漁業協同組合内共第1号0267-62-0764
• Joshō Fishery Cooperative 上小漁業協同組合内共第1号0268-22-0813
• Kōshoku Fishery Cooperative 更埴漁業協同組合内共第1号026-275-1536
• Chikumagawa Fishery Cooperative 千曲川漁業協同組合内共第2号026-245-2136
• Hokushin Fishery Cooperative 北信漁業協同組合内共第2号・第18号026-253-6696
• Kōsui Fishery Cooperative 高水漁業協同組合内共第2号・第9号0269-62-3646
• Susobanagawa Fishery Cooperative 裾花川水系漁業協同組合内共第3号026-227-5438
• Naraigawa Fishery Cooperative 奈良井川漁業協同組合内共第4号0263-53-1505
• Saigawa Fishery Cooperative 犀川漁業協同組合内共第4号0263-62-2022
• Hata Fishery Cooperative 波田漁業協同組合内共第4号0263-92-2246
• Azumi Fishery Cooperative 安曇漁業協同組合内共第4号090-3403-0680
• Hokuan Chubu Fishery Cooperative 北安中部漁業協同組合内共第4号0261-22-7107
• Saigawa Shokusan Fishery Cooperative 犀川殖産漁業協同組合内共第4号026-262-2212
• Suwako Fishery Cooperative 諏訪湖漁業協同組合内共第5号0266-52-4055
• Suwa Tōbu Fishery Cooperative 諏訪東部漁業協同組合内共第5号0266-73-5060
• Tenryugawa Fishery Cooperative 天竜川漁業協同組合内共第6号0265-72-2445
• Shimo-Ina Fishery Cooperative 下伊那漁業協同組合内共第6号0265-23-0327
• Tōyama Fishery Cooperative 遠山漁業協同組合内共第6号0260-34-2201
• Kisogawa Fishery Cooperative 木曽川漁業協同組合内共第7号0264-22-2580
• Himekawa Joryu Fishery Cooperative 姫川上流漁業協同組合内共第8号・第17号0261-72-5955
• Shiga Kogen Fishery Cooperative 志賀高原漁業協同組合内共第9号0269-34-2721
• Nebagawa Fishery Cooperative 根羽川漁業協同組合内共第10号0265-49-2111
• Matsubarako Fishery Cooperative 松原湖漁業協同組合内共第11号0267-93-2201
• Nojiriko Fishery Cooperative 野尻湖漁業協同組合内共第12号Lake Nojiri — one of our listed areas026-258-3515
• Aokiko Fishery Cooperative 青木湖漁業協同組合内共第13号0261-23-1504
• Kizakiko Fishery Cooperative 木崎湖漁業協同組合内共第13号0261-22-1899
• Namiai Fishery Cooperative 浪合漁業協同組合内共第14号0265-47-2214
• Hiraya Fishery Cooperative 平谷村漁業協同組合内共第15号0265-48-2211
• Kamanashigawa Fishery Cooperative 釜無川漁業協同組合内共第16号0266-62-9234
• Itoigawa Inland Fishery Cooperative 糸魚川内水面漁業協同組合内共第17号025-552-7828

Places we list here

• Lake NojiriFreshwater · Chubu · 30 min from Nagano by bus

What we do not hold, and who to ask

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

• This prefecture’s minimum sizes and closed seasons — not transcribed yet.
• 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.

Nagano Inland Fisheries Federation 長野県漁連
026-228-0125
380-0936 長野市岡田町148-5 長野県漁連会館3F

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