Fishing Spot Japan

Fishing in Goto Islands

Saltwater in Nagasaki, Kyushu. 30 min flight or 1 h 40 jetfoil from Nagasaki

Do you need a permit?

No permit is required for recreational sea fishing.

How far our answer goes here

  • ✓National lawApplies everywhere. Foreign-national gear limits, protected species, bluefin controls.
  • ✓PrefectureMinimum sizes, closed seasons and legal gear. This is a floor — local rules add to it, never subtract.
  • ✓Sea-area / inland committeeGoto has its own Sea-area Fisheries Adjustment Commission, separate from Tsushima and Northern Nagasaki. Trolling needs the prefectural federated commission's approval.
  • —Cooperative permitSea fishing needs no cooperative permit. A Common Fishery Right still covers the shore — see the rule above.

Rules stack. Everything above the line we hold; everything below it you still need to confirm on the ground. That gap is exactly what a local guide is for.

Legal gear in Nagasaki

○Hand line & rod fishing○Trolling●Landing net×Scoop net○Cast net○Fishing spear (excluding harpoons)○Rake / clam tool○Hand gathering

Sea areas only, as of 2026-03-31. Anything not listed — diving apparatus, spearguns — may not be used at all. Full table & footnotes

Size limits and closed seasons

Nagasaki VERIFIED

Breaching a size limit or closed season: up to 6 months' imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥100,000. Infringing a fishery right: a fine of up to ¥1,000,000. Taking abalone, sea cucumber or glass eel: up to 3 years or ¥30,000,000.

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

Closed seasons

Abalone over 10 cm shell length1 Nov – 20 DecUnder 10 cm is prohibited year round, and abalone is nationally protected in any case.
Pen shell over 15 cm1 Jun – 30 Sep
Spiny lobster over 15 cm body length21 May – 20 Aug
Sea cucumber1 Apr – 31 OctAlso nationally protected.
Ayu (sweetfish)1 Jan – 31 May
Red snow crab1 Jul – 31 Aug

May not be taken at or under this size

Amberjack (buri)15 cm total length or under
Japanese eel21 cm total length or under
Common octopus100 g or under (by weight)
Spiny lobster15 cm body length or under
Abalone10 cm shell length or under
Horned turban2.5 cm operculum long axis or under
Pen shell15 cm shell longest diameter or under
Manila clam2 cm shell length or under
Hard clam3 cm shell length or under
Mogai ark shell3 cm shell length or under

Prohibited methods

  • Sea — Anything outside the permitted list (Rules art. 45)
  • Sea — Spears with a launching mechanism — bow, gun, rubber or spring. Those count as a 'mori' and are not permitted at all
  • Sea — Unapproved trolling — see the committee instruction below

Permitted for non-professionals: hand gathering, rod, handline, landing net, cast net, trolling (with approval), and a fixed-head spear or gaff. The prefecture amended the Rules on 30 August 2024 specifically to spell out what counts as a 'yasu': the head must be fixed to the shaft and the shaft held in the hand. Anything launched — bow, gun, rubber or spring — is a 'mori' and is prohibited.

Local committee instructions

  • Trolling needs approval. Under a 2023 instruction of the Nagasaki Prefectural Federated Sea-area Fisheries Adjustment Commission, anyone other than a licensed fisher who wants to troll must obtain the commission's approval first. The national gear table shows Nagasaki as ○ for trolling, which is true only once you hold that approval.
  • Nagasaki runs three separate sea-area commissions — Tsushima, Northern Nagasaki, and Goto — each able to issue its own instructions for its waters.
Source: Nagasaki Prefecture Fisheries Promotion Division — Fisheries Adjustment Rules arts. 33, 35, 45. The page moved in 2026; the old path now 404s. https://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/bunrui/shigoto-sangyo/suisangho/gyogyo-shinko/gyogyo-tyosei/tyosei-kisoku/✓ checked 2026-08-28

What we have checked here

A starting point, not a full species list. Plenty else swims here. These are the fish we have paired with the rules that govern them.