Fishing with a diving suit is prohibited in France. The “Underwater Leisure” fact sheet from the Ministry of the Sea, published in March 2025, states this in one line, right next to the minimum age of 16 set for spearfishing.
This rule changes the way you look at a diving mesh bag. The same mesh bag can bring up a can, carry your fins to the boat, or hide a catch that the law forbids you from having.
Here we sort out these uses, the French law that applies to collection, and the important purchasing criteria. We did not conduct any product tests, and no prices are copied from product sheets.
Diving mesh bag: what accessory are we really talking about?
The word refers to two different objects. The first is a large mesh bag that carries your equipment between the car, the club, and the boat. The second is a small collection net, closed by a frame or a ring, that you attach to your vest to bring up debris or a lost object.
Product sheets often mix the two.
The previous version of this article did so as well. It described an 80-liter net capable of swallowing fins, wetsuit, and regulator, then talked about underwater collections as if it were the same object. This volume corresponds to a transport bag. No one clips that onto their vest. And the collection net plays in another category: empty, it fits in a pocket, but once filled it affects your balance and can get caught everywhere if you let it hang beneath you.
So we treat the two separately, starting with the question that product sheets avoid, that of what you are allowed to put inside.
Are you allowed to collect shellfish while scuba diving?
No, not in France. Taking a marine animal, even by hand, is considered fishing, and recreational spearfishing forbids any equipment that allows breathing without surfacing. Articles R921-90 and following of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code set this framework, which the Ministry of the Sea summarizes for the public.
A sea urchin collected while scuba diving remains a forbidden catch.
In freediving, the framework changes but does not disappear. The ministry’s fact sheet requires being at least 16 years old and having an insurance certificate or a federation license to practice spearfishing. Each catch must meet the minimum size set for recreational fishing by the decree of October 26, 2012. Sale is prohibited. For certain species considered sensitive by the ministry, such as bass, pollock, or gilt-head bream depending on the coast, you must also register and declare your catches the same day via the RecFishing app. Check the current list before your outing.
But protected areas add their own prohibitions, and a marine nature reserve or the core of a national park may forbid any collection, including empty shells and stones. Shore fishing follows the same minimum sizes, with local rules (closed zones, periods) published by prefectures. Read the area’s regulations before your outing.
What to do if your net catches an amphora or an ancient object?
You leave it in place. The Heritage Code, in article L532-3, requires anyone who discovers a maritime cultural asset not to damage it and to declare it within 48 hours following the discovery or arrival at the first port. The Ministry of Culture refers this declaration to the DRASSM in Marseille.
An amphora has no place in a net.
Yet the temptation exists, especially in the Mediterranean, where ceramic fragments sometimes lie on known sites. The text covers any deposit, wreck, or vestige presenting prehistoric, archaeological, or historical interest. It is not up to you to judge. Note the position, take a photo if you can, and let the archaeologists decide. A displaced shard loses its context, which is often the only thing that allows it to be dated.
Collecting debris with a net: how to do it safely?
This is the most defensible use of the collection net. It works if collection remains secondary: light debris, without attached life, stored gradually in a closed net that you can drop at any time. The plan is decided at the briefing with the guide before entering the water.
Buoyancy is the first trap. A can full of sand or a glass bottle weighs more than you think, and each added object requires you to adjust your vest while your attention shifts to the bottom. The net must remain small. Keep it attached to a ring on your vest with a carabiner you can open with one hand. If it pulls too much, you drop it and retrieve it later.
However, not all waste deserves to be removed.
An old pot or a tire sometimes serves as shelter for an octopus, or carries sponges and sea squirts. Removing it destroys what has settled there. It is the same logic that explains why we avoid touching marine life while diving. Rusty metal cuts, hence the importance of appropriate diving gloves where they are allowed.
A lost fishing net should be reported to the club. Cutting it alone exposes you to entanglement, and a well-placed diving knife is used to free yourself, not to play reef rescuer. For a heavy object, do not use your diving lift bag as a lifting balloon, because raising a load underwater requires other equipment and specific training.
Which net to choose for carrying your equipment?
For transport, look for a mesh open enough to drain and dry, reinforced seams at the handles, and straps if you walk a long way to the boat. Compare the advertised volume to your own equipment, including wetsuit and fins, rather than a figure read elsewhere.
For collection, the criteria change:
- a closure that does not open by itself (clap frame or rigid ring)
- a solid attachment point for a carabiner
- a modest size, which fits in a pocket of the vest.
Then there is the color.
Thus, a bright color helps your buddy spot the net, without saying anything about your safety. The mesh bag also does not protect a regulator or a computer in an airplane hold, and for a trip a padded diving bag remains more suitable. The net dries quickly, and that is its real asset for transport. The brands mentioned in the previous version are not included here, as we could not verify their current ranges with the manufacturers. In short, choose according to use, not according to the embroidered name.
How to maintain a diving net?
Rinse the net with fresh water after each sea outing, shake out the sand stuck in the mesh, and let it air dry, unfolded, before storing it. Then check the seams of the handles and the closure, which fail first on this type of accessory.
However, a wet net closed in a locker eventually smells.
When traveling, without fresh water available, minimal rinsing and complete drying are better than nothing. Always empty the collection net before rinsing it. A forgotten piece of waste at the bottom is waste that returns to the water at the next rinse on a dock. If you also collect while snorkeling on one of the best snorkeling spots in France, the same small net will do, provided you respect the area’s rules. The real cost is minimal: a few grams in your pocket, two minutes of rinsing, and a dive where the net never takes precedence over your air.
FAQ
Can you collect empty shells while diving?
The fishing rule targets living animals. However, an empty shell serves as shelter for a hermit crab or other organisms, and some protected areas prohibit any collection. Check local regulations before putting it in your net.
Is spearfishing with a tank allowed in France?
No. Recreational spearfishing prohibits any equipment that allows breathing without surfacing. It is practiced apnea-style, from 16 years old, with insurance or a federation license.
What to do with an old object found while diving?
Leave it in place and report it within 48 hours of discovery or arrival at the first port. The Ministry of Culture directs these reports to the DRASSM, in Marseille.
Can a collection net hinder your dive?
Yes, if it fills too much or hangs below you. It alters your buoyancy and can snag on the bottom. Keep it small, closed, attached by a carabiner that you can open with one hand.
Sources
- Underwater Leisure: Safety Advice (Ministry of the Sea, 2025)
- Discovery of Maritime Cultural Property (Ministry of Culture, DRASSM, accessed in 2026)
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