Aci Castello · Italy

8.5

wave 0.1 m head-on

visibility7m

Dive today — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: MeteoAlarm · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 03:47

Sources & confidence

Sources: MeteoAlarm · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
Method: 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.

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.
Wind & gusts: Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
Tide phase: Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
Water temperature: Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
Currents & outflow: Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
Rain runoff & air clarity: Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
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.

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MeteoAlarm no dataupdated 03:47

Aci Castello — solo, off the rocks

BEST WINDOW

best weather window · solo, stay careful, run the checklist · calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal

wave 0.1 m head-onwind 9 km/hvisibility ~7 mwindow 06:00–21:00

today, best window 09:00–12:00

fish · Visibility 7 m · Water 24.6°C

confidence medium · verdict for the selected day

Before entering, check the camera and the surge

Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.

Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.

Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.

Sunday · today2026-10-25

07:17–18:09 · full moon

▲ 03:00▼ 09:00▲ 15:00▼ 21:00 · 0.3 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-0.46 m

Wave0.26 m

Wind4 km/h

Water25 °C

fish activity: moonset 06:21 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:50 · high · moonrise 17:28 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high

Conditions window06:00–09:00

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish

Hs 0.16 m · calmperiod 2.7 swind 14→27surge 0viz 8 m

0.16 mcalm · up to ~0.32 · 32° at an angle

2.7 sswell moderate

14→27gusts 27 km/h

0weak surge

0.06m/s

8 mrecent swell

24.6°C5 mm + hood

▼09:00tide turn near

Atmosphere33 kmovercast

moderatemoonset

wind 14 km/h
dawn/dusk

confidence mediumtwilight

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Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map

Capo MuliniAci Castello

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: Between the shore and five metres of water there are 240 m: that is the stretch you want to cover in good light. The orders of the Capitaneria responsible for Aci Castello can add seasonal prohibitions, and they outrank the general rule. With Levante forecast to strengthen it pays to go earlier rather than to stay longer. A trip done properly starts with checking the day's rules.
tide: Even at springs the band out to five metres stays 240 m wide: the level does not change the route. Between the shore and five metres of water there are 240 m, and no tide shifts that line appreciably. Water pushing you towards the east, that is towards the open sea, is the signal to come out. At Aci Castello the level changes little, but the current towards the east can be noticeable in the channels.
shelter: Gusts from the west ruffle the surface but raise no swell: it is the fetch towards the east that counts. There is no general shelter here: there is a flank that holds in Levante and one that does not, and they swap as the sea turns. With the wind from the west at your back you can work; with the swell from the east in your face you look and go home. At Aci Castello the swell forecast matters more than the wind forecast on this stretch.
conditions: With 20 m at 360 m from the entry you go from inshore water to outside water without any real transit. The 10 m contour runs about 240 m from the shore and is the practical reference for this entry. At Aci Castello the good days are few and have to be taken when they come. By 240 m from the shore you already know whether it is worth going on.
hazard: At Aci Castello, as along the whole Italian coast, the surface marker and the 50 m radius are not negotiable. On this point the way out is chosen beforehand: exposed rock does not forgive a mistake in timing. The perimeter of the Isole Ciclopi AMP runs 1.9 km away, and the official chart is the only valid reference. With Levante building, the window shuts sooner than the forecast says.
access: The mark is right against the shore, 30 m from the coastline, and ten metres of water is about 240 m out. In Levante the only workable entry is the one on the opposite flank of the point. An access that is comfortable in a flat sea can be unusable half an hour later. At Aci Castello many accesses cross private property: if it is signed, look for another one.

Lava point north of the MPA; sea bream, octopus. Basalt reefs and drops, open to the E.

Google Maps

Le Cocole (Santa Tecla)Aci Castello

borderline

Pro · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

Praiola (Riposto)Aci Castello

borderline

Pro · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

San Giovanni Li CutiAci Castello

borderline

Pro · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

Santa Maria La ScalaAci Castello

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: A loaded speargun out of the water is prohibited: you load below and unload before coming out. With ten metres of water 100 m from the shore, the band where you meet the local orders is all of it right here. At Aci Castello a short legal window beats a long questionable one. Whoever goes out in order is also defending the place for whoever comes next.
tide: The level barely moves: the 10 m contour stays 100 m from the shore at any hour of the day. The current you will find towards the southeast will nearly always be wind-driven and not tidal. With the shore 30 m from the mark, the alongshore current counts for more than any table. At Aci Castello the sea tells you the time better than any table.
shelter: With an exposure of 120° the awkward sector runs from east to south, and outside it the day is usually saved. In a bay like this the shelter is a few tens of metres wide, tucked against the windward point rather than in the middle of the arc, and in a hard Scirocco not even that. If the swell starts working inside the 60 m of coastal strip, the session is over. The strip between the shore and the 5 m contour, about 60 m here, is the first to churn and the last to clear.
conditions: The step is short: 100 m for ten metres, 180 m for twenty, and from there the bottom keeps going. With 200 m reached about 1100 m out, the limit of the day is set by your breath and not by the distance. Do not judge the day by the first five minutes: judge it by the first clean stretch. At Aci Castello the inshore current shifts the murk within hours: waiting sometimes works better than moving.
hazard: The marker has to follow you even when you are working 100 m from the shore: 50 m from the vertical below it is the legal maximum. Coves also collect what the sea brings: lost nets and lines on the bottom. At Aci Castello the real risk is not the depth: it is the combination of tiredness and swell. Blackout gives no warning, and the margins shrink when you are tired.
access: At Aci Castello the entry at the head of the cove is the one that holds up best even in a made-up sea. The distance from the shore, 30 m, is minimal: the limit is set by the sea and not by the route. In a hard Scirocco the windward exit becomes unusable: check an alternative. Whoever gets in first tells the others what they found.

Rocky cove north of the Ciclopi reserve; lava bottom, hunt with westerly wind.

Scoglio della Carrubba (Ognina Catania)Aci Castello

borderline

Ultra · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

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.

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».

connecting to the stream…

● LIVE↗

Catania › East: Campeggio JonioWindy webcam (Catania › East: Campeggio Jonio) — official webcams.windy.com player, plays inline. Read the water and surf before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

European seabass
<4 m · — · dawn/dusk
min. 25 cm · legal target
Gilthead seabream
1–4 m · over sand/weed · dawn
min. 20 cm · legal target
White seabream
1–5 m · in the surf on the reef · dawn
min. 23 cm · legal target
Two-banded seabream
1–8 m · — · dawn
min. 18 cm · legal target
Sharpsnout seabream
2–10 m · — · dawn
min. 18 cm · legal target
Annular seabream
0–5 m · — · daytime
min. 12 cm · legal target
Common dentex
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 30 cm · legal target
Red porgy
min. 18 cm · legal target
Common pandora
min. 18 cm · Sardinia 20 cm · legal target
Axillary seabream
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 18 cm · legal target
Blackspot seabream
min. 33 cm · legal target
Striped seabream
0–5 m · — · dawn
min. 20 cm · legal target
Black seabream
2–6 m · — · —
min. 15 cm · legal target
Bogue
min. 15 cm · legal target
Salema
0–2 m · — · daytime
min. 15 cm · legal target
Dusky grouper
5–40 m · — · daytime
min. 45 cm · RESTRICTED · max 1 grouper/day; BANNED in Sardegna & MPAs
Wreckfish
min. 45 cm · RESTRICTED · max 1 grouper/day; BANNED in Sardegna & MPAs
Brown meagre
2–15 m · — · twilight
min. 20 cm · RESTRICTED · protected in several MPAs · (verify against the norm in force)
Greater amberjack
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target · (verify against the norm in force)
Leerfish
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target
Grey mullet
0–2 m · — · —
min. 20 cm · Sardinia 25 cm · legal target
Red scorpionfish
3–20 m · — · daytime
min. 15 cm · legal target
Moray eel
1–15 m · — · twilight
min. 25 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target
European conger
2–25 m · — · night
min. 25 cm · Sardinia 50 cm · legal target
Wrasse
min. 15 cm · legal target
Red mullet
min. 11 cm · legal target
Atlantic bonito
min. 25 cm · legal target
Common octopus
1–6 m · — · twilight
min. 450 g · legal target
Cuttlefish
legal target · (verify against the norm in force)

Law

✓NO paid licence, but a free MASAF REGISTRATION is mandatory (recreational sea-fishing declaration, online via SIAN/SPID, annual) — it is not a «licence».
✓Free-diving only: scuba/rebreather/hookah BANNED (art. 128-bis DPR 1639/68). The 16+ rule comes from a different act — D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 6 c. 5; handing a speargun to an under-16 is an offence (art. 13-octies c. 3 b, as replaced by L. 75/2026).
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only from dawn to sunset (art. 129e DPR 1639/68).
✓Distances (art. 129 DPR 1639/68): ≥500 m from beaches with bathers; ≥100 m from fixed gear/set nets and from vessels anchored outside ports.
✓Buoy MANDATORY (art. 130 DPR 1639/68): float with a red flag bearing a white diagonal stripe, visible ≥300 m; the diver stays within 50 m of the buoy/support boat.
✓The speargun may not be kept armed out of the water (art. 131 DPR 1639/68) — load only when submerged.
✓The spearfisher may NOT gather corals, crustaceans or molluscs — the second paragraph of the same article (art. 128-bis DPR 1639/68; the same rule in D.M. 249/1987, art. 2). BUT cephalopods are EXCLUDED: octopus, cuttlefish and squid may be taken — the exception is kept in terms by the official guidance (circolare 6227201 of 23.07.1987). Mussels — up to 3 kg per person per day, but only with the Capo del Compartimento Marittimo's authorisation. The 5 kg daily cap counts EVERYTHING taken that day (D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 13-octies c. 4, as replaced by L. 75/2026).
✓You MAY carry a speargun and a breathing apparatus on the same boat — but at most ONE cylinder of up to 10 L per vessel, and using it to fish is prohibited (art. 128-ter DPR 1639/68). While you are down, at least one person must stay aboard ready to intervene, and there must be a rope long enough to recover the diver.
✓Sale of recreational catch is PROHIBITED (EU control regime, Reg. CE 1224/2009).
✓The 5 kg/person daily cap IS in force and carries a fine: €500–3 000 up to 10 kg, €2 000–12 000 up to 50 kg, €12 000–50 000 above (D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 13-octies c. 4, as replaced by Law 21 Apr 2026 no. 75). Exception: a single fish heavier than 5 kg. Recovery-plan species and bluefin tuna: +1/3 (c. 5).
✓Sicily (autonomous): on top of the national frame,

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.

FAQ — spearfishing in Aci Castello

Where can I spearfish in Aci Castello?

Aci Castello has rock entry points such as Capo Mulini, Santa Maria La Scala and Le Cocole (Santa Tecla). Black lava coast of Catania: basalt reefs, steps and submerged arches, drops that come close to shore. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Aci Castello?

You can dive almost all year, with first-rate visibility; summer and autumn remain the best months. The Tyrrhenian side (San Vito, Cefalù) and the Ionian/south (Siracusa, Portopalo) are complementary: pick the headland with the day's sheltered side.

How cold is the water in Aci Castello?

Warm and among the clearest in Italy: ~15–27 °C. A 3 mm suit in summer, 5 mm in the shoulder months. Visibility often over 15–20 m on calm days.

Is Aci Castello good for a beginner?

Intermediate: superb water, but the best fish is often near the MPAs where it's banned — know the boundaries exactly. Rock and reefs on every side; pick the lee side. Buoy always.

Do I need a licence in Aci Castello?

No — in Aci Castello there is no paid licence; a free MASAF declaration is mandatory (the recreational sea-fishing communication, online via SIAN/SPID, renewed each year), which is not a «licence». Breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no selling the catch. See the guide.

Full guide: spearfishing in Italy →

Surface

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

Spots in Italy

🇮🇹Italy

Nearby towns

Sicily

Calabria

Help us make it better

The water column

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The seabed

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Aci Castello

Campania

Apulia

Aci Castello spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility & live cameras

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Aci Castello by email

Spots in Italy

🇮🇹Italy

Nearby towns

Sicily

Calabria

Help us make it better

A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.The call is on the rock.

Where to get in off the rocks.

Look at the water right now.

What's in season, what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Aci Castello

Campania

Apulia

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.