Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture (CODOPESCA) has announced the start of the annual lobster fishing ban across the Caribbean, effective from March 1 to June 30, 2025. The prohibition applies nationwide to the capture, storage, and sale of all lobster species, including Spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), Spotted lobster (Panulirus guttatus), Mother lobster (Parribacus antarcticus), and Stone lobster (Scyllarides sp.).
The ban is enforced under Decree 119-12, Law 307-04, and Regulation OSP-02-09, which mandate a regional lobster fishing restriction across Central America and the Dominican Republic. CODOPESCA has urged supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, fishmongers, and fishermen to comply with the regulations by ceasing all lobster-related activities during this period. Fishermen are also required to remove and store all lobster-catching equipment.
Businesses have five days from the start of the ban to declare any remaining lobster stock, which must be stored away from display until the restriction ends. Unauthorized possession or sale of lobsters during this period is illegal and subject to confiscation. Violators face fines ranging from 10 to 200 minimum public sector salaries and potential prison sentences of two to ten years.
