Do you need a fishing license on Gran Canaria?
If you want to fish from the shore or from a boat on Gran Canaria with peace of mind, you need a fishing license for the sea! According to Alberto, the owner of Isla Breeze Boat Rental, where we rented a boat, fines at sea can be as much as €3000. So it is certainly not worth taking the risk fishing at sea without a permit. While fishing, it is also not fun to always have to look over your shoulder to see if there are no checks being carried out in the area. It's vacation, isn't it?
Where can you buy a fishing license for Gran Canaria?
There are two ways to get the fishing license in order. You can get the permit on site yourself in order, but then you have to personally go to the office. They give you a document (invoice) with which you have to go to a local bank to pay the bill. With that proof of payment you have to go to the same office again. I thought that was a hassle and had it arranged by someone in Gran Canaria. That's the easy second way† You pay a little more for your fishing license, but without all the hassle. The person who arranged everything is called Sunil and has a website with all fishing licenses that are available in Spain. Arranging a fishing license with him takes 2 to 5 days. All communication went smoothly via email. He will email you the permit on the desired date. You just print the fishing license for at sea and that's it.
Which permit do you prefer?
Applying for a fishing license for children is not easy, because you have to show the fishing license service, a birth certificate of your child. That birth certificate must then be translated into Spanish. The quick and legal solution is to choose a fishing license (adults) from The Balearic Islands (Majorca). Apparently they don't need a birth certificate there, just the name, date of birth and the passport number or ID number. I have chosen for the Spanish fishing license because it is valid for 5 years and was also the cheapest option. My son (14 years old) chose the fishing license of the Balearic Islands, because it is valid for 3 years. Both permits are valid in Gran Canaria!
Are all Spanish fishing licenses valid in Gran Canaria?
Alberto saw that we had a travel rod in our backpack and asked if we were going sea fishing. He could not believe that these permits were also valid in Gran Canaria. He promised that he would check it and let us know as soon as possible (via whatsapp). I think we were sailing for 15 minutes, when we already got a message that all permits were indeed also allowed on Gran Canaria. He had checked with the sea police. My son was very relieved to hear this and within 5 minutes his fishing line was in the sea. Not much later he caught a large Red Snapper (see first photo). We didn't leave until around 11am and apparently it was a bit too late to go fishing as it was the only fish we caught. Next time we will have to leave earlier.
How much does a fishing license for Gran Canaria cost?
The price for the Spanish Sea Shore License (Class 3), which is valid for 5 years, costs €44,99. My son had the Balearic Islands Shore Fishing License, valid for 3 years and cost 39,99€. I received a nice discount of €10 from Sunil and it came to €29,99 for this permit. You could pay with PayPal, among other things. The advantage of those fishing licenses is that Sunil does not need a copy of your passport or ID to get the documents in order. Note: these permits allow you to fish at sea, but not troll while sailing. That is a Class 1 fishing license and a slightly more expensive license. via the link below you can purchase all possible fishing licenses for Gran Canaria and Spain.
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