Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Fishing License
CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW)
Contact
- Address
- Department of Lands and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 10007 (physical: 1314 Anatahan Drive, Capital Hill)
Saipan, MP 96950 - Division of Fish and Wildlife, Saipan
- 670-664-6000
- DLNR main office, Saipan
- 670-322-9830
- Fish and Wildlife, Tinian
- 670-433-1408
- Fish and Wildlife, Rota
- 670-532-6000
- Report violations
- 670-287-1126
- Report violations (alternate)
- 670-664-6031
- Website
- dlnr.cnmi.gov/fish-and-wildlife.html
At a glance
- Licences and permits
- 12
- Of which specialty
- 12
- Fees verified
- 4 Sep 2026
Who does not need one
There is NO general recreational fishing licence in the CNMI. DFW states that recreational fishing with rod and reel, hand reels, spear (free-diving) and hand gleaning may proceed without any licence, subject to the other rules. Licences are gear- and species-specific: a licence with a per-net fee and a numbered registration tag is required to fish with a talaya (cast net) or a gill net, and separate harvesting licences are required for sea crab, land crab, coconut crab, dead coral and aquarium species. All licences and permits are applied for on DFW's paper Import, Scientific, Fishing, Harvesting and Hunting (ISFHH) licence application - there is no online purchase portal.
Specialty licences 12
Extra items an angler must hold on top of the base licence. These are the ones most often missed — a base licence alone does not cover them.
| Licence | Type | Who needs it | Applies to | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquarium Species Personal Collecting License - ResidentCalendar-year licence. A separate Display licence is 30.00. | Permit | CNMI residents collecting aquarium species for personal use | Resident · annual · all | $10.00 |
| Cast Net (Talaya) License - ResidentCalendar-year licence. A fee is charged for each net. | Permit | CNMI residents fishing with a talaya / cast net; a licence is required for each net and licensed nets are tagged with the licence number | Resident · annual · all | $10.00 |
| Coconut Crab Harvesting License - ResidentSeasonal licence (mid-September to mid-November). | Permit | CNMI residents harvesting coconut crab | Resident · season · all | $10.00 |
| Land Crab Harvesting License - ResidentSeasonal licence (April 1 - June 30). | Permit | CNMI residents harvesting land crab | Resident · season · all | $10.00 |
| Sea Crab Harvesting License - ResidentOpen all year. | Permit | CNMI residents harvesting sea crab | Resident · annual · all | $10.00 |
| Coral Collecting License (Dead Coral Only) - ResidentCalendar-year licence. No non-resident rate is published. | Permit | CNMI residents collecting dead coral | Resident · annual · all | $15.00 |
| Gill Net License - ResidentIssued by net length band (0-50 ft / 50-100 ft). | Permit | CNMI residents fishing with a gill net | Resident · annual · all | $25.00 |
| Cast Net (Talaya) License - Non-ResidentCalendar-year licence. | Permit | Non-residents fishing with a talaya / cast net in CNMI waters | Non-resident · annual · all | $75.00 |
| Coconut Crab Harvesting License - Non-ResidentSeasonal licence (mid-September to mid-November). | Permit | Non-residents harvesting coconut crab in the CNMI | Non-resident · season · all | $75.00 |
| Land Crab Harvesting License - Non-ResidentSeasonal licence (April 1 - June 30). | Permit | Non-residents harvesting land crab in the CNMI | Non-resident · season · all | $75.00 |
| Sea Crab Harvesting License - Non-ResidentOpen all year. | Permit | Non-residents harvesting sea crab in the CNMI | Non-resident · annual · all | $75.00 |
| Gill Net License - Non-ResidentIssued by net length band (0-50 ft / 50-100 ft). | Permit | Non-residents fishing with a gill net in CNMI waters | Non-resident · annual · all | $100.00 |
Every licence and fee 12
| Licence | Residency | Term | Ages | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permit 12 | ||||
| Aquarium Species Personal Collecting License - Resident CNMI residents collecting aquarium species for personal use Calendar-year licence. A separate Display licence is 30.00. | Resident | annual | all | $10.00 |
| Cast Net (Talaya) License - Resident CNMI residents fishing with a talaya / cast net; a licence is required for each net and licensed nets are tagged with the licence number Calendar-year licence. A fee is charged for each net. | Resident | annual | all | $10.00 |
| Coconut Crab Harvesting License - Resident CNMI residents harvesting coconut crab Seasonal licence (mid-September to mid-November). | Resident | season | all | $10.00 |
| Land Crab Harvesting License - Resident CNMI residents harvesting land crab Seasonal licence (April 1 - June 30). | Resident | season | all | $10.00 |
| Sea Crab Harvesting License - Resident CNMI residents harvesting sea crab Open all year. | Resident | annual | all | $10.00 |
| Coral Collecting License (Dead Coral Only) - Resident CNMI residents collecting dead coral Calendar-year licence. No non-resident rate is published. | Resident | annual | all | $15.00 |
| Gill Net License - Resident CNMI residents fishing with a gill net Issued by net length band (0-50 ft / 50-100 ft). | Resident | annual | all | $25.00 |
| Cast Net (Talaya) License - Non-Resident Non-residents fishing with a talaya / cast net in CNMI waters Calendar-year licence. | Non-resident | annual | all | $75.00 |
| Coconut Crab Harvesting License - Non-Resident Non-residents harvesting coconut crab in the CNMI Seasonal licence (mid-September to mid-November). | Non-resident | season | all | $75.00 |
| Land Crab Harvesting License - Non-Resident Non-residents harvesting land crab in the CNMI Seasonal licence (April 1 - June 30). | Non-resident | season | all | $75.00 |
| Sea Crab Harvesting License - Non-Resident Non-residents harvesting sea crab in the CNMI Open all year. | Non-resident | annual | all | $75.00 |
| Gill Net License - Non-Resident Non-residents fishing with a gill net in CNMI waters Issued by net length band (0-50 ft / 50-100 ft). | Non-resident | annual | all | $100.00 |
Fees as published by CNMI DLNR Division of Fish and Wildlife and read on 4 September 2026. Agencies change fees without notice and vendors add issuing charges, so confirm the current price at the point of sale. We do not reproduce seasons, limits or gear rules — see the agency's regulations page for those.
Notes on this listing
Fees come from the fee table printed on DFW's own ISFHH licence application PDF on dlnr.cnmi.gov, and the 'no licence needed for rod and reel, hand reel, spear or gleaning / licence needed for talaya' split comes from DFW's Laws and Regulations page. The application PDF prints whole-dollar amounts (10, 25, 75, 100) without cents; they are recorded here as plain decimals. The PDF gives a non-resident rate for cast net, gill net and the three crab licences only - no non-resident figure is printed for dead coral or aquarium collecting, so those rows are resident-only rather than assumed. Season dates in notes are the seasons the fee table names and are recorded only because the licence is sold per season; they are not a restatement of harvest rules. The CNMI Administrative Code Title 85-30.1 (Non-Commercial Fish and Wildlife Regulations) at cnmilaw.org 302-redirects to a document-search page and could not be loaded, so the statutory fee text was not cross-checked. DFW publishes no divisional e-mail address, office hours or social media accounts on dlnr.cnmi.gov, so those fields are null or empty; 670-664-6000 is the Saipan Fish and Wildlife number from the DLNR contact directory. There is no online licensing portal, so license_portal is null.
About CNMI DLNR Division of Fish and Wildlife
CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife handles recreational fishing licensing for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
It issues 12 permits and fees of its own, including the Aquarium Species Personal Collecting License – Resident, Cast Net (Talaya) License – Resident, Coconut Crab Harvesting License – Resident and the Land Crab Harvesting License – Resident.
The fee table below was read from official sources on 4 September 2026. We list what each item is called, who needs it and what it costs, and link out for the rules themselves — seasons, limits and gear regulations live on the agency’s own page and change too often to mirror.