Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a fishing tackles trading business do?
It buys and sells fishing tackle and gear, including rods, reels, lines, hooks, lures, baits, nets, and sinkers, supplying recreational, sport, and charter anglers.
What does fishing tackle include?
Fishing tackle includes rods, reels, fishing lines, hooks, lures, baits, sinkers, nets, and related fishing equipment and accessories used to catch fish.
Do you need approval for a fishing tackle trading business?
Yes. Approval from the Dubai Maritime Authority is required after the Meydan Free Zone license is obtained, since fishing tackle is equipment for a regulated activity.
Who buys fishing tackle in the UAE?
Recreational anglers, sport and tournament fishers, and charter and fishing tour operators all buy tackle, and many return regularly as lines, hooks, and bait are used up.
Does this activity include trading other sporting goods?
No. This license is focused on fishing tackle and gear. Other sporting equipment, such as camping goods, boats, and bicycles, falls under its own separate scope.
How to Start a Fishing Tackles Trading Business with Meydan Free Zone
Step onto a UAE breakwater at dawn, or a deep-sea charter heading out of the marina, and the one constant is the gear. Rods, reels, lines, hooks, lures, and bait are what turn an interest in fishing into a day on the water. Fishing tackles trading is the business that supplies all of it.
The UAE fishing rods market is valued at around USD 13 million on a five-year basis, driven by the growing popularity of recreational fishing, rising tourism, and the country's coastline of roughly 1,318 kilometres, according to Ken Research¹.
Across the Middle East and Africa, the sport fishing tackle market was worth close to USD 290 million in 2023 and is growing at around 5 percent a year, according to Cognitive Market Research², with the UAE among the region's leading markets. Recreational and sport fishing, rather than commercial fishing, drive most of that demand.
Fishing in the UAE runs from a quiet morning on the shore to an offshore charter chasing kingfish. Every version of it needs tackle, and that steady, repeating need is what this trade supplies.
Sources: Ken Research (2025); Cognitive Market Research (2025).
A fishing tackle shop sells the tools of an entire activity: the rods, reels, nets, lines, hooks, and bait that every angler in the country depends on. It is a focused, well-defined retail business with a clear customer and a clear product range. The shop becomes the supply point that recreational anglers, charter operators, and sport fishers all rely on to get on the water and stay there.
The demand has a steady rhythm. Recreational fishing is a mainstream pastime in the UAE, drawing residents and visitors to its long coastline and its waters in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Charters and tour operators need gear, and need it replaced as it wears.
Tackle is also a consumable trade as much as a durable one: lines fray, hooks are lost, lures are snagged, and bait is bought fresh, so customers return rather than buying once. Sport fishing adds a higher-value layer, with tournament and game-fishing anglers willing to pay for specialist rods and reels. A shop that serves the casual angler, the charter operator, and the serious sport fisher has demand running across all three at once.
From a first rod and reel to specialist game-fishing gear, the UAE rewards tackle traders who can supply every kind of angler on its coastline.
Who is this for?
- Fishing tackle retailers: Shops selling rods, reels, lines, hooks, lures, bait, and related fishing gear to recreational anglers.
- Sport and game fishing equipment specialists: Traders supplying specialist tackle for tournament, sport, and deep-sea game fishing.
- Charter and bulk gear suppliers: Traders supplying fishing tackle in volume to charter operators and fishing tour businesses.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a fishing tackle trading business serving recreational, sport, and charter anglers.
4763.90 - Fishing Tackles Trading
Under this activity, you are licensed to trade in fishing tackle. The activity covers the buying and selling of fishing gear and equipment.
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There are clear boundaries on this activity. The activity is the trading of fishing tackle. While it sits within the broader retail of sporting equipment, this license is focused on fishing gear and does not extend to the other categories in that wider group, such as camping goods, boats, and bicycles, which are traded under their own scope. It also does not extend to the catching of fish itself, which is a separate activity. The activity is the supply of fishing tackle and gear.
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The line is precise. If your business buys and sells fishing tackle and gear, you are in. If you trade other sporting equipment such as camping goods, boats, or bicycles, or if you catch fish yourself, you are not.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Dubai Maritime Authority is required after the trade license is obtained.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Citations
¹ Ken Research. UAE Fishing Rods Market Outlook. Ken Research, 2025.
² Cognitive Market Research. Sport Fishing Tackle Market Report. Cognitive Market Research, 2025.
