Croatia fishing licence for tourists 2026: prices, rules and what you can catch from a charter yacht

• Licence needed: Yes, every angler.

• Issued by: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Uprava ribarstva); sold online and by authorised resellers (Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Uprava ribarstva)).

• Cost: Recreational sea licence: 1 day €10; 3 days €25; 7 days €45; 150 days €99.54; annual €66.36 (annual sold 1 Dec–1 Mar only). Big-game add-on: 1 day €15.93, 3 days €39.82, 7 days €79.63.

• Valid for: 1 / 3 / 7 / 150 days or calendar year

• Rules: Pravilnik o sportskom i rekreacijskom ribolovu na moru, NN 48/2026 (8 May 2026).

• Licence is personal.

• Catch reporting in the mRecFish app: dolphinfish from 15 Aug 2026; short-term licence holders from 1 Jan 2027.

• National parks and nature parks need a separate park permit.

• [Not verified] The Kornati prices (€20 for 1 day, €40 for 3 days) are not verified because np-kornati.hr returned 403.

This is a fishing licence. To skipper the yacht yourself you need a sailing licence or résumé, which is a different document: sailing licence requirements in Croatia.

• Daily catch: 5 kg per person plus one extra fish if it takes you over 5 kg (one 'trophy' fish); stop fishing once you reach it
• Groupers: max 1 per day; elasmobranchs (sharks/rays): 0
• Kept fish must be tail-marked
• Gear (recreational licence): max 2 of each type (rods, handlines, trolling lines, cephalopod lines), each with up to 3 hooks
• [Secondary source] Big-game add-on: circle hooks required, max 3 rods with 1 hook/lure each (secondary source: sub.hr)
• Banned for recreational licence holders: bluefin tuna (catch & release only under big-game rules), swordfish, albacore, Mediterranean spearfish, crustaceans (lobster etc.)
• [Secondary source] Minimum sizes (secondary source sub.hr, reseller): dentex 30 cm, amberjack 45 cm, bonito 45 cm, brown meagre 30 cm, sea bass 25 cm, gilthead 20 cm, groupers (Epinephelus) 45 cm, wreckfish 45 cm, octopus 1 kg

• Vis & Biševo: tuna and amberjack on drop-offs. Source: secondary search summary (fishinglicensecroatia.com, mega-tour.org, vitonautika.com).
• Lastovo: dentex and amberjack; nature park, so check the park rules. Source: secondary.
• Palagruža: open-water pelagics. Source: secondary.
• Outside Kornati NP boundary: fishing inside needs a park permit. Source: secondary.

Spots are suggestions from fishing guides and operators unless an official text is named. Check protected areas before you anchor to fish.

• Kornati National Park (separate park fishing permit)
• Brijuni National Park
• Mljet National Park
• Krka National Park
• Telašćica Nature Park
• Lastovo Islands Nature Park (Lastovsko otočje)

[Not verified] Park list is from the NN 48/2026 scope (national parks, special reserves, nature parks). The park-by-park fishing zones are not verified.

• Spearfishing needs a separate sport licence (club/federation, e.g. SUB.hr).

Every guest who fishes needs their own licence. Buy it online before boarding. The skipper's or boat's licence does not cover guests. Anything not listed is not verified.

Planning the trip around the fish? See the best time to charter in Croatia, month by month, and the Croatia charter overview.

See catamarans for rent in Croatia on SamBoat

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• The Kornati prices (€20 for 1 day, €40 for 3 days) are not verified because np-kornati.hr returned 403.
• Park list is from the NN 48/2026 scope (national parks, special reserves, nature parks). The park-by-park fishing zones are not verified.
• Best months for Atlantic bonito, Dusky grouper, Gilthead seabream, European sea bass, Brown meagre, Mediterranean spearfish

• [Secondary source]: From a non-government source (guide, club, operator or news); not official.
• [Not confirmed in the official text]: An official rule we could only read in a search summary, because we could not open the official text.
• [Not verified]: We could not confirm it.
• No label: Read in an official source (government, statutory body or the legal text).

Best months come from fishing guides and charter operators (secondary sources), not from regulators: treat them as a guide. IUCN status is the species' global Red List category as FishBase shows it (Red List 2025-2), not a local fishing rule. "Endemic" means FishBase gives a range limited to one sea; "No" means FishBase shows a wide distribution.

• Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Uprava ribarstva): Uprava ribarstva – recreational licence info (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Uprava ribarstva): Uprava ribarstva (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• gov.hr (Croatian government portal): gov.hr – Marine recreational and sport fisheries (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• zakon.hr (legal database): NN 48/2026 Pravilnik (zakon.hr) (official text, hosted by a third party), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• HSSRM (Croatian sport sea fishing federation): Pravilnik PDF (HSSRM) (official text, hosted by a third party), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Kornati National Park: NP Kornati (official), checked 28 Oct 2026. We could not read this page; facts from it are marked as not verified.
• European Commission: EU RecFishing Q&A (official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Morski.hr (news): morski.hr news on 2026 rules (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• SUB.hr (licence reseller): SUB.hr fishing rules (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• Vito Nautika (charter company): Vito Nautika fishing calendar (secondary, not official), checked 28 Oct 2026.
• FishBase species summaries (reference database, IUCN status as shown, Red List 2025-2), checked 28 Oct 2026: Dentex dentex, Seriola dumerili, Thunnus thynnus, Sarda sarda, Epinephelus marginatus, Sparus aurata, Dicentrarchus labrax, Sciaena umbra, Tetrapturus belone.

Method: methodology. Data: JSON.

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