Spearfishing is the fishing activity practiced by amateur divers in apnoea.
This sport, greatly practiced in Madeira, is not organized into any association, and the abuse of fishing, most of the times using illegal means and the rare continental platform existing around the island make of Madeira a non-ideal spot for the practice of this activity.
Even so, there are some interesting places for its practice such the Boqueirão in Ponta de São Lourenço, which is only reached by boat.
The richest zones are included in the Natural Reserves (Garajau, Rocha do Navio, Desertas and Selvagens) where any kind of fishing is forbidden.
This activity is highly ruled and its practice obliges to a licence given out by the maritime authorities of the island where it may be practiced. It is expressly forbidden the use of artificial breathing equipment, the sale of captured fish, fishing less than 300 meters from the balneal zones, the capture of Dusky Grouper, among other restrictions.
The means of capture which are mostly used are the guns made of a stick or fish-gig with a sharp end and the fish-hook generally used to catch octopus.