Several fish species are completely illegal to catch in the United States and many other countries, typically because they’re endangered, threatened, or protected under federal or state wildlife laws. Beyond outright bans, hundreds of additional species have strict seasonal closures, size limits, or catch-and-release-only rules that effectively make keeping them illegal under certain conditions. Knowing which fish fall into these categories keeps you from facing fines that can reach tens of thousands of dollars.
Federally Protected Species in the U.S.
The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to “take” (catch, harm, harass, or kill) any species listed as endangered. For fish, this covers dozens of species across freshwater and saltwater. Some of the most notable include:
- Shortnose sturgeon: Found along the Atlantic coast from Canada to Florida, this species has been federally endangered since 1967. Catching one, even accidentally, requires immediate release.
- Atlantic sturgeon: Several distinct populations along the East Coast are listed as endangered. Gulf sturgeon, a subspecies found from Florida to Louisiana, is similarly protected as threatened.
- Smalltooth sawfish: Once common throughout the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern Atlantic, this ray-like fish with a distinctive toothed snout is critically endangered. It’s illegal to target, and any accidental catch must be released without removal from the water.
- Delta smelt: This tiny fish found only in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is one of the most legally contested species in the country, with its endangered status affecting water policy across the state.
- Humpback chub and bonytail chub: Native to the Colorado River basin, both species are endangered and fully protected.
- Several Pacific salmon runs: While salmon fishing is legal broadly, specific populations of Chinook, coho, sockeye, and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest are listed as endangered or threatened. Fishing closures in certain rivers and tributaries exist specifically to protect these runs.
Threatened species get slightly less strict protections than endangered ones, but in practice, most threatened fish still cannot be legally targeted. Violations of the Endangered Species Act can carry civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation and criminal penalties up to $50,000 and imprisonment.
State-Level Bans and Protected Lists
Each state maintains its own list of protected fish beyond what federal law covers. These vary widely and often reflect local conservation priorities that don’t make national headlines.
In California, for example, the unarmored threespine stickleback is fully protected under state law, meaning you cannot possess one under any circumstances. Florida protects the Key silverside and several species of darters. Texas prohibits the take of paddlefish in most of its waters. In the Great Lakes region, certain cisco and deepwater sculpin populations carry state protections.
Many states also designate “species of special concern” that may not carry criminal penalties but still have strict no-harvest rules. Your state’s fish and wildlife agency publishes a complete list, usually in the annual fishing regulations guide. These lists change as populations recover or decline, so checking current regulations each season matters.
Saltwater Species With Harvest Bans
Several popular ocean fish have complete or near-complete harvest moratoriums in U.S. waters, even though they aren’t technically endangered.
Red drum (redfish) cannot be commercially harvested in federal waters (beyond 9 miles offshore in the Gulf, 3 miles on the Atlantic). Recreational harvest is allowed in state waters with strict limits, but keeping one caught in federal waters is illegal. Goliath grouper in the Atlantic and Gulf was under a total harvest ban from 1990 until Florida opened a very limited permit lottery in 2023, allowing just 200 fish per year. Nassau grouper remains completely off-limits.
Red snapper has faced some of the most contentious fishing regulations in the country. While not banned outright, recreational seasons in federal Gulf waters have been as short as a few days in some years, making it effectively illegal to catch for most of the calendar. Certain shark species, including white sharks, basking sharks, whale sharks, and sand tiger sharks, are prohibited from harvest entirely in U.S. waters.
Freshwater Fish You Can’t Keep
Freshwater regulations tend to be more localized, but several patterns show up across multiple states. Paddlefish, sometimes called spoonbill, are illegal to catch in many eastern states where their populations have collapsed, though Oklahoma, Missouri, and a handful of other states still allow limited harvest. Lake sturgeon, once so abundant in the Great Lakes that they were considered a nuisance, are now protected or heavily restricted across most of their range.
Native trout species face widespread protections. Bull trout in the Pacific Northwest are federally threatened, making retention illegal across their range in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Gila trout in the Southwest are similarly protected. Even common species like largemouth bass and walleye can be illegal to keep during spawning seasons or in specific bodies of water designated as catch-and-release only.
Some states protect fish that most anglers wouldn’t recognize. The snail darter, famous for nearly stopping the construction of a Tennessee dam in the 1970s, remains protected. Various species of madtom catfish, dace, shiner, and chub carry protections in states where they’ve become rare.
International Protections Worth Knowing
If you fish outside the U.S., the rules shift considerably. The European eel is critically endangered, and catching it is banned or heavily restricted across the European Union. Napoleon wrasse (humphead wrasse) is protected throughout much of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, though enforcement varies. The Chinese paddlefish was declared extinct in 2022, but its close relatives remain protected in several Asian countries.
Arapaima, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, is regulated in Brazil with specific seasonal bans and community-based management systems. Catching one outside these frameworks is illegal. In Australia, certain freshwater cod species in the Murray-Darling basin are fully protected, including trout cod and eastern freshwater cod.
The international wildlife trade treaty known as CITES also restricts cross-border transport of certain fish species. Even if you legally catch a fish in one country, bringing it home could violate import laws.
What Happens If You Accidentally Catch One
Incidental catch of a protected species is common, and wildlife agencies generally recognize the difference between accidental hooking and intentional targeting. The standard expectation is that you release the fish immediately with minimal handling. For species like smalltooth sawfish, specific release protocols exist: keep the fish in the water, cut the line as close to the hook as possible, and do not attempt to remove the hook.
Penalties typically apply when someone keeps a protected fish, lies about what they caught, or repeatedly “accidentally” catches protected species in ways that suggest intentional targeting. Game wardens have broad discretion. Photographing a protected fish before release is generally fine, but dragging it onto a boat for a lengthy photo session could be considered harassment under the law.
If you’re unsure whether a fish you’ve caught is protected, the safest approach is to release it quickly and identify it afterward. Many state wildlife apps now include photo identification tools that can help you learn the local protected species before you hit the water.
How Regulations Change Over Time
Fish protections aren’t static. Species get added to and removed from protected lists as populations shift. Striped bass along the Atlantic coast have cycled through periods of complete moratorium (most notably in the 1980s) and relatively open harvest, with regulations tightening again in recent years as stocks declined. The same pattern plays out with dozens of species on shorter timescales, with seasonal closures, slot limits, and bag limits adjusted annually based on population surveys.
The practical takeaway: regulations you relied on last year may not apply this year. Every state publishes updated fishing regulations annually, and federal saltwater rules can change mid-season through emergency actions by NOAA Fisheries. Checking current rules for your specific body of water and target species before each trip is the only reliable way to stay legal.