spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast
Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →
The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.
How we score the water
Our own model
Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.
01
Swell & wave memory
Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
Coast shape & exposure
How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.
Safety gates
Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.
It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.
A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.
Where to get in, where to hunt
Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground
This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.
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0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
yellowupdated 03:32
A Coruña — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 2.1 m (occasionally up to ~4.2 m)
wave 2.1 mwind 15, gusts 44 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−10 m
The water column
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
What it is
A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.
spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.
Now live: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
The legal calendar is short here: weekends and official public holidays (state and Galician), plus the daily block running from 1 May to 30 September and the Holy Week days from Thursday to Easter Sunday. Add to that the only weather window that works, sea under a metre and no northwest groundswell.
tide
Over the San Pedro shallows the tide rules more than the wind: the near three-and-a-half-metre range on springs accelerates the water between the rock heads and sets up eddies. Get in at slack water, and if the stream is already running, stay on the lee side of the islet and do not cross it.
shelter
The San Pedro islets lie in open water off the city with nothing shielding them from the 290°–20° sector; 315° hits them head on and raises breakers over the shallow heads. With a light south or southeast wind, and only then, the landward face becomes usable.
conditions
Away from the shore this is the cleanest water around A Coruña: eight to ten metres in a settled nordés spell. As soon as a wet southwesterly sets in, the turbid plume coming off the coast reaches out here and halves the visibility within a few hours, even if the surface stays calm.
hazard
A place for experienced people: you have to arrive by boat, there is no shore to climb out onto and the current can stop you getting back. Keep 300 metres from the fishing boats working the area, the float always within 25 metres, and never go without someone on the surface. Night is banned.
access
You go out by boat from the city marina; from land, at the Monte de San Pedro viewpoint, you can see whether the islets are breaking, and that is the best check before you start the engine. There is no landing: you get in and out of the boat, with the skipper paying attention.
Islets off Riazor; rocky drop-offs, only in calm seas, advanced.
In Galicia weekdays are barred to spearfishing: count on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, plus the open season from May to September and the days running from Holy Thursday to Easter. Inside the ría the water is at its best at first light and with the tide coming in.
tide
Inside the ría the tidal range, close to three and a half metres on springs, shows up more as current than as a change of shoreline: on the ebb the water pulls towards the mouth and drags dirt with it. The flood is the good moment, because it brings water in from outside and rinses the bottom near Espiñeiro.
shelter
Espiñeiro sits on the Oleiros shore, already inside the Ártabro gulf, and the city peninsula screens it from 315°. That makes it the plan B for a bad day: in a hard northwesterly only small chop reaches in here. What does spoil it is a southwest wind, which blows straight down the length of the ría.
conditions
The mixed bottom of sand, stone and weed at Mera does not give open-cape numbers: three to five metres is normal and six on a very good day. The ría concentrates everything that comes off the land, so after a couple of days of rain the water turns brown and it is not even worth unpacking the suit.
hazard
You are inside a busy ría: merchant ships and fishing boats use the channel, and you must stay out of it and 300 metres from any working vessel. Annex VI of the 2009 Order closes ría lines that do not appear on our map, so check the A Coruña one before you get in. Night is prohibited.
access
Park in Mera near the promenade and go down to Espiñeiro beach by the ramp; you get in over sand and then follow the rock northwards. There is no need to swim far: the interesting bottom is a few strokes out, and the exit is that same sand in any state of the sea.
Public official public holiday (state or Galician) or weekend only out of season; between 1 May and 30 September, and in Holy Week from Thursday to Sunday, any day of the week is fine. In summer the cove fills with swimmers from mid-morning, so here you either get in very early or you do not get in at all.
tide
With three-and-a-half-metre springs the beach changes size a lot: at low water a strip of rock shows in both corners that makes for an easy entry, and at high water the sea reaches almost to the wall and you have to get in among boulders. The flood always brings cleaner water in from outside.
shelter
San Amaro is a small notch of sand set into the rock beside the Tower, and that setting takes the edge off the northwest sea; with an east or southeast wind it goes completely flat. Do not kid yourself: when 315° comes in hard, the wave wraps inside and the cove closes down like everywhere else.
conditions
Being a closed cove, visibility depends on how many days it has gone without sea coming in: three to six metres in a good spell and one or two as soon as the sandy bottom stirs. A dry nordés clears it in a day; a southwesterly with rain leaves it green, dark and not worth the drive.
hazard
This is an urban bathing beach: in season there are people in the water all day and you must keep a clear distance from the swimming area with the float well in sight. Outside the cove, to the north, the rock turns serious as soon as there is groundswell. Night is banned and the gun is never loaded ashore.
access
You come down from the street by the San Amaro cemetery on the steps to the sand, leaving the car up top. Get in at the western corner over flat rock and swim out along the rock line; with sea running, come out in the middle of the sand rather than on the stones, even if it means a longer swim.
Sheltered cove by the Tower; shelter from NW, good for beginners in a low swell.
Galicia closes weekdays under the 2009 Order: you are left with Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, plus two exceptions where any day works, Holy Thursday to Easter and the first of May to the last of September. Below the Tower the first hour is best, before the promenade fills with walkers and rods.
tide
Three and a half metres of range on springs completely change the edge: at low water granite platforms appear that you can walk in from, and at high water those same platforms are under water and breaking. The current hugs the headland, so swim close to the rock rather than heading out into open ground.
shelter
The rocky shore at Campo da Rata faces northwest (330°) with nothing but open ocean in front: the 290°–20° sector comes straight in and 315° is the one that wrecks it. It is only usable with an offshore wind, south to southeast, and once the groundswell has dropped below a metre.
conditions
The granite below the Tower gives clear water when the nordés blows and pushes the city's dirty water away: five to eight metres is normal on a day like that. With a southwesterly, rain and urban runoff it drops to two, and after a storm the surge lifts sand off the neighbouring beaches and blanks it out.
hazard
This is a shore of rod anglers and walkers on the rocks: watch for leads dropping from above and do not shoot where there are lines in the water. The surge between boulders is treacherous at high tide. Never load the gun out of the water, always tow the float, and remember that night is prohibited.
access
Park beside the Tower's sculpture park and take the paths down to the edge; from there find a flat platform, ideally with the tide half falling. Mark your exit point before you get in, because from the water every boulder along Campo da Rata looks exactly the same.
Rocks below the Tower (Campo da Rata); NW-exposed entry, sea bream and wrasse.
SOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.
One morning glance — and you know.
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≈
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live
Look at the water right now.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
Safety protocol
Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.
Local guide · A Coruña
Spearfishing in A Coruña: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
A Coruña is a northwest-swell city. The Tower of Hercules rocks and Illas de San Pedro need calm Atlantic conditions; Praia de San Amaro and Mera / Praia de Espiñeiro are the safer checks when there is still low swell. The legal frame is Galicia: Clase C spearfishing licence, medical certificate, freediving only, and Cantabrian-Northwest sizes such as 42 cm recreational seabass.
TL;DR
Start with San Amaro or Mera when NW swell is still present.
Avoid the Tower rocks and San Pedro unless the Atlantic is genuinely calm.
Legal split: Galicia Clase C licence and Cantabrian-Northwest species sizes.
Best legal spearfishing spots near A Coruña
These shore-entry zones should only be used with settled sea, a visible buoy and confirmed local limits.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Praia de San Amaro
Sheltered cove by the Tower
Shore rock in shallow water
Careful beginner
From the cove, away from bathing areas
Sheltered cove by the Tower. Low swell. Galicia Clase C licence.
Mera / Praia de Espiñeiro
Shore-entry rocky ground
Mixed shallow bottom
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Mixed bottom inside the Ártabro gulf. Light exposure. Cantabrian-Northwest sizes.
Roquedo da Torre de Hércules
Rocks below the Tower (Campo da Rata)
Shore rock in shallow water
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
NW-exposed rocks with sargo and wrasse. Only when calm. Avoid bathing areas.
Illas de San Pedro
Islets off Riazor
Rock ledges and drop-offs
Advanced
Only with calm sea and clear return logistics
Rocky islets and drop-offs. Advanced, calm sea only. Do not push NW swell.
Conditions and season essentials
The bad sector runs from west-northwest to north-northeast, with northwest the worst direction. That matters more than a light wind reading: leftover NW swell can close the rocky entries. Use the Praia do Orzán webcam as a reality check because no NDBC buoy is listed. San Amaro is the sheltered cove by the Tower and suits low-swell beginner sessions. Mera sits inside the Ártabro gulf with mixed, lightly exposed bottom. The Tower rocks are exposed to NW and hold sargo and wrasse. Illas de San Pedro are advanced rocky islets, only for calm sea.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
✓Galicia: «Clase C» licence (submarina), procedure PE405A on the Xunta portal; minimum age 16, medical certificate required. Galicia recognises spearfishing licences from other communities and the EU. sede.xunta.gal (PE405A).
✓No-take zone: Atlantic Islands National Park (Cíes, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada) — spearfishing banned (see zones on the map).
✓Galicia is the only community that closes weekdays: spearfishing is allowed only on Saturdays, Sundays and state or regional holidays, and from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September, every day (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Daylight only, orto to ocaso (art. 13.3). The cap is 5 kg per licence per day, and 2 octopus per fisher per day (art. 12.3). The zones closed to spearfishing are listed in (art. 11.2). The licence needs an official medical fitness certificate, insurance and an arms licence or a federation card (art. 3.b).
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).
Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.
FAQ
What licence applies in A Coruña?
Galicia Clase C spearfishing licence, with a medical certificate.
What swell is worst?
Northwest swell.
What is the local caladero?
Cantabrian and Northwest.
What is the seabass minimum size?
European seabass is listed at 42 cm.
Are the Atlantic Islands open?
No. Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada are listed as banned for spearfishing.
Spain
