Fishing Trips & Charters in Tenerife

Fishing trips and charters in Tenerife

Tenerife is a volcanic peak rising from an abyssal plain, not a shelf island, and that single fact is why the fishing here works. There is almost no continental shelf: the seabed breaks at around 125 metres and then falls away steeply, so water more than 1,000 metres deep sits within a few miles of the south-coast marinas. A boat leaving Puerto Colón or Los Cristianos is over blue-marlin depth in minutes rather than hours, which in most of Europe would take half a day's steaming.

The second reason is temperature. The sea off Tenerife swings only about 5°C across the whole year, from roughly 19°C in January to 24°C in late summer. Nothing shuts down. The species change with the months, but the fishery itself never closes.

Two seasons, not one

From June to October the boats troll for billfish, dorado and yellowfin, and the sea is at its calmest. From November to May the same boats work the tuna runs, jig for amberjack and fish the reefs, in water that is still the warmest winter sea in Europe. The species-by-species calendar is above.

Do I need a Spanish fishing licence?

No, not for a trip on a licensed charter. Tenerife charter boats operate under a collective first-class recreational fishing licence attached to the vessel, sized to the number of people it is authorised to carry, so guests are covered by the boat rather than needing a personal licence. The Tenerife tourism board states this directly. It is still worth confirming with your operator when you book.

Every marlin goes back, and that is the law

This is the part most fishing pages leave out. Catch and release is a legal condition for billfish in Spanish waters, not a house rule the skipper chose. Blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish and spearfish must all be released under the conditions attached to a vessel's fishing authorisation, because the European quota for those species is assigned in full to the professional fleet. Swordfish may not be caught or kept at all. Blue marlin also carries a recreational minimum conservation size of 251 cm under EU law, and selling any part of a recreationally caught marlin is prohibited.

Bluefin tuna deserves its own warning. Recreational bluefin fishing in Spain is catch-and-release only, and it is open in a narrow legal window each year, set annually by the fisheries ministry. Outside that window no bluefin may be taken at all, not even caught and released. The biological run off Tenerife and the legal season do not line up, so never book a trip on the promise of a bluefin without checking the current year's rules.

Several sharks are also off-limits. Hammerheads and thresher sharks may not be caught or landed and must be released alive, and shortfin mako carcasses may not be kept anywhere in the Atlantic north of 5°N, which includes every mile of water a Tenerife charter fishes.

How much can you keep?

Trolling for big game, the limit is three large pelagic fish per person per day, up to 100 kg per boat or one fish heavier than that. Whatever you keep is for your own table: selling a recreational catch is not allowed.

Choosing a boat

Our fishing charters leave from Puerto Colón in Costa Adeje, with one exception: the Sofia sails from Los Cristianos, so check the port before you set off. Some boats sell single rods on a shared trip, which is the cheapest way to get out; others are private hire only, where the price covers the whole boat and a group of six pays what two would. Rods, reels, tackle, bait and the fishing licence are included on every boat listed above.

Compare the boats at the top of this page, and book direct: every booking comes with our Best Price Guarantee.