Mafia Island is a very safe, low-crime destination. The resort is located within the protected Marine Park. We maintain first-aid facilities on-site and have established medical evacuation protocols. Current travel advisories for Tanzania are available from your government’s foreign affairs website. Tanzania requires no specific vaccinations for entry, but we recommend consulting your travel health provider about malaria prophylaxis and routine vaccinations.

Inside the Marine Park (key area for sport fishing):

Much of the core fishing zone around Chole Bay is part of the Mafia Island Marine Park, and here, there are formal regulations:

• Sport fishing requires a licence with is arranged by our watersports company;
• Catch-and-release is mandated for many fish, especially those below certain weights;
• The goal is explicitly stock conservation and reproduction

So in these protected waters, there is an official regulatory framework that enforces release practices, even if it’s not always phrased as a blanket “all fish must be released.”

Outside the Marine Park (offshore big game areas):

For offshore big game fishing (marlin, sailfish, tuna, etc.):

• Regulations are less uniformly prescriptive;
• However, catch-and-release is the standard practice;
• This is driven by:
  • Conservation ethics,
  • Tourism sustainability,
  • International sport fishing norms.

Trolling is common for billfish, while specialised anglers can use popping and jigging on the reefs. Boats are usually equipped with Garmin GPS, sonar, and high-quality Shimano or Penn tackle.