Do you need a licence to spearfish in Adelaide?

Check PIRSA before diving because South Australian rules are state specific.

Can you spearfish at Aldinga Reef?

Treat Aldinga Reef as no-take. It is flagged with the Encounter Marine Park Aldinga Reef Sanctuary Zone.

Is Port Noarlunga open for spearfishing?

Only outside protected reef and dive-trail restrictions. If the boundary is uncertain, do not hunt there.

What wind helps Adelaide visibility?

A light easterly is the useful wind because the coast faces west.

Can you spear rock lobster in South Australia?

No. Australian state-by-state rules say rock lobster may not be taken by spear.

Adelaide (Glenelg) spearfishing forecast — Australia

Adelaide (Glenelg) · Australia

5.2

wave 1 m

visibility2m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 14:05

Sources & confidence

Sources: 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.

Google Play — QR code — point your camera

0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app

updated 14:05

Offshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga) — solo, off the rocks

BORDERLINE

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.0 m + hitting the shore

wave 1 mwind 19, gusts 33 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~2 m

today, best window 18:00–21:00

fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 17.6°C

confidence low · 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

06:21–19:38 · full moon

▲ 04:00▼ 10:00▲ 16:00▼ 22:00mid-range tides · 1.7 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-0.42 m

Wave0.92 m

Wind8 km/h

Water17 °C

fish activity: moon overhead 00:00 · high · moonset 05:21 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:00 · high · moonrise 18:47 · moderate

Conditions window15:00–18:00

don't go fish

Hs 1.06 m · roughperiod 10.6 s head-onwind 21→36surge 5.2viz 2 m

1.06 mrough · up to ~2.12 · 252° head-on

10.6 sswell building

21→36gusts 36 km/h

5.2pounding the rocks

0.28m/s

2 mrecent swell

17.7°C5 mm + hood

▼22:00tide turn near

Atmosphere17 kmprecip 0.3 mm

lowoff the lunar peaks

wave 1.1 m (occasionally up to ~2.1 m)
steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
just after high water

confidence lowday

Open the seafloor map with entry points

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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

Brighton JettyCoast (Grange to Hallett Cove)

borderline

⛔ Banned here

Legal notice: No hand spear or spear gun may be carried here: the Adelaide metropolitan coast from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park is closed to spears within 600 m of the high-water mark. It is also within 100 m of Brighton Jetty (item 5). · Scope: Gulf St Vincent, Outer Harbor – Kingston Park, 600 m seaward of mean high water springs · Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 4(a) (as of 2026-09-26)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Jetty ground at Adelaide: piles, the shade line and the rubble apron under the deck, 2–6 m. Open southern coast: Adelaide takes Southern Ocean swell year-round, so the usable window is the calm one, not the average one. Closed to spearfishing (see the legal notice).

Google Maps

Glenelg ReefCoast (Grange to Hallett Cove)

borderline

⛔ Banned here

Legal notice: No hand spear or spear gun may be carried here: the Adelaide metropolitan coast from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park is closed to spears within 600 m of the high-water mark. It is also within 100 m of Glenelg Jetty (item 5). · Scope: Gulf St Vincent, Outer Harbor – Kingston Park, 600 m seaward of mean high water springs · Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 4(a) (as of 2026-09-26)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Named reef off Adelaide; the mark sits on its seaward edge, 3–7 m. The reference town's bad sector is 210–330°, worst at 270° — with the swell in it this face does not work. This is Southern Ocean water — swell reaches Adelaide in every season and the day you dive is a flat day, not a typical one. Closed to spearfishing (see the legal notice).

Google Maps

Grange JettyCoast (Grange to Hallett Cove)

borderline

⛔ Banned here

Legal notice: No hand spear or spear gun may be carried here: the Adelaide metropolitan coast from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park is closed to spears within 600 m of the high-water mark. It is also within 100 m of Grange Jetty (item 5). · Scope: Gulf St Vincent, Outer Harbor – Kingston Park, 600 m seaward of mean high water springs · Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 4(a) (as of 2026-09-26)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Pier structure — piles, shade and the rubble apron below the deck, 2–6 m, about 70 m off the shoreline. Exposure recorded for Adelaide: bad from 210° to 330°, worst at 270°. GEBCO 2020 reads about 5 m at 400 m from shore and 6 m at 900 m; the band above is the inshore water you actually dive and has to be confirmed wet. Closed to spearfishing (see the legal notice).

Google Maps

Hallett Cove / Marino RocksCoast (Grange to Hallett Cove)

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Rocky reef under the Marino cliffs; 2–6 m, snapper, sweep, squid. Enter off the rocks, sheltered on E wind.

Google Maps

Henley BeachCoast (Grange to Hallett Cove)

borderline

⛔ Banned here

Legal notice: No hand spear or spear gun may be carried here: the Adelaide metropolitan coast from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park is closed to spears within 600 m of the high-water mark. · Scope: Gulf St Vincent, Outer Harbor – Kingston Park, 600 m seaward of mean high water springs · Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 4(a) (as of 2026-09-26)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Beach with rock and weed edges at Adelaide; the mark is on the reef end, not the open sand, 2–6 m. Weather in the 210–330° sector closes this shore, 270° worst of all. Offshore the grid gives 4 m at 400 m and 5 m at 900 m (GEBCO 2020) — the shallow band on this card is inshore water, not a sounding. Closed to spearfishing (see the legal notice).

Google Maps

Aldinga ReefOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

⛔ Banned here

356 m from the boundary of Encounter Sanctuary Zone — Aldinga Reef (no-take zone)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Broad reef flat off Aldinga — Encounter MP SANCTUARY / Aquatic Reserve, NO-TAKE. Leafy seadragons; look only.

Google Maps

Gull RockOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Small islet off the cliffs between Port Willunga and Maslin Beach. Guides give a rock entry that is awkward at high tide, and big reef ledges 300 to 500 m out, beyond this mark. They name silver drummer, sea sweep, Australian herring and snook.

Google Maps

Ochre PointOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

A 1 km beach under 60 m bluffs, fronted by rock rubble and then reef flats, reached on foot from either end. The state habitat map places low reef with macroalgae right at the mark.

Google Maps

Port Noarlunga reef & jettyOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

⛔ Closed under Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 5 — boundaries as described in the act, not drawn on the map

Legal notice: No hand spear or spear gun may be carried within 100 m of any jetty, landing or wharf in South Australia; this mark is 23 m from Port Noarlunga Jetty. · Scope: waters and adjacent foreshore within 100 m of any part of Port Noarlunga Jetty · Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA), reg 14 + Schedule 10 Part 2 item 5 (as of 2026-09-26)

48 m from the boundary of Encounter Sanctuary Zone — Port Noarlunga Reef (no-take zone)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Reef dive-trail alongside the jetty; 2–8 m, snapper, sweep, calamari. Info — the reef is a protected dive trail, spearfishing restricted; huntable outside the reserve.

Google Maps

Port Willunga ReefOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

711 m from the boundary of Encounter Sanctuary Zone — Aldinga Reef (no-take zone)

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

Beach entry from the Star of Greece Road car park. About 200 m out lie the remains of the 1888 iron ship Star of Greece, flagged as a historic wreck site. The habitat map has sand at the mark and low reef from about 100 m out.

Google Maps

Robinson PointOffshore reefs (Port Noarlunga to Aldinga)

borderline

exposed head-on to the swell today

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: no data (coarse grid)

At the north end of Moana, 20 m bluffs are fronted by reef flats, with sloping tracks down from the bluff road. The habitat map shows low reef with macroalgae at the mark and sand patches 20 to 50 m away.

Google Maps

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.

What's in season,
what the law says.

Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 15:08 (Australia/Adelaide)

In season now

King George whiting
Sillaginodes punctatus · 2–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 32 cm · bag 5 a day · closed 1 Mar – 30 Jun · The GSV and Kangaroo Island limits were cut on 1 May 2026.
snook
Sphyraena novaehollandiae · 1–15 m · legal
min 45 cm · bag 10 a day
southern sand flathead
Platycephalus bassensis · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 30 cm · bag 5 a day
yellowtail kingfish
Seriola lalandi · 3–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 60 cm · bag 1 a day · Boat limit 3 in both gulf zones.
samsonfish
Seriola hippos · 5–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 88 cm · bag 1 a day
silver trevally
Pseudocaranx georgianus · 3–30 m · legal
min 24 cm · bag 10 a day
sea sweep
Scorpis aequipinnis · 1–20 m · legal
min 24 cm · bag 10 a day
blue morwong (queen snapper)
Nemadactylus valenciennesi · 8–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 38 cm · bag 3 a day
harlequin fish
Othos dentex · 5–35 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
no minimum size · bag 1 a day
Australian herring (tommy ruff)
Arripis georgianus · 0–12 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 40 a day
bight redfish
Centroberyx gerrardi · 15–50 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 30 cm · bag 5 a day
giant Australian cuttlefish
Sepia apama · 1–12 m · legal
no minimum size · bag 8 a day · The Point Lowly aggregation near Whyalla is look-only: Upper Spencer Gulf north of the Arno Bay–Wallaroo line and the False Bay exclusion zone are closed to all cuttlefish at all times.
silver drummer
Kyphosus sydneyanus · 0–8 m · legal
min size: no data

off season: snapper () · western blue groper () · southern calamari ()

Law

•Spearfishing in Australia is governed by STATE law, not federal: the licence, the gear, the closed areas, the sizes and the all differ between NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA and TAS. Below is your state's pack; cross into the next state and the rules change at the border.
✓Federally listed threatened, migratory and marine species — white and whale sharks, sawfish, marine turtles and marine mammals among them — are protected in Commonwealth waters: killing, injuring or taking one there is an offence (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). In a state's own waters the same animals are protected by that state's list (see the protected-species panel). Never shoot, disturb or take them.
✓Marine park zoning applies ON TOP of the state's fishing rules: / Sanctuary / Preservation zones are full no-take, and on the Great Barrier Reef the marine park zoning sits on top of the Queensland rules. Check the boundaries on the managing agency's zone map before you enter the water (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003; NSW Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation).
✓Rock lobster may not be speared in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania or Western Australia — it is taken by hand (WA also allows a hand snare or blunt crook). The Queensland and Northern Territory pages read on 26 Sep 2026 publish no such rule, so there it is not stated either way. Abalone may not be speared in Victoria or Tasmania. Spearfishing in inland fresh waters is banned in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Sources: NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation; Fisheries Regulations 2019 (Vic); Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA); the state fisheries guides.
•SA: there is no in South Australia, hand fish spears and spearguns need no registration, and they may be used in most South Australian waters (PIRSA).
✓SA gear: carrying or using ANY fish spear, speargun included, while on scuba or hookah is prohibited. Taking or attempting to take rock lobster with a speargun or any pointed instrument is an offence. A may be carried for protection only: it must not be used for fishing or attached to a spear (PIRSA; Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, reg. 15).
✓SA places: a hand fish spear or spear gun may not even be carried in the River Murray and the state's other fresh water streams (or on land within 100 m of them), in West Lakes, within 100 m of any jetty, landing or wharf, within 200 m of the Hindmarsh and Inman river outlets, in Boat Harbor at Second Valley, and along the Adelaide coast within 600 m of high water from Outer Harbor to Kingston Park and from Hallett Cove (Balboa Drive) to Witton Bluff (Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017, reg. 14 and Schedule 10).

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.

Spearfishing in Adelaide (Glenelg): spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing in Adelaide works when the Gulf is flat, not when a westerly pushes chop onto the ledges. The useful shore window is small swell, light east wind and clear exits on the west-facing reef. Hallett Cove / Marino Rocks is the practical open entry in this group. Port Noarlunga can work only outside protected reef and jetty dive-trail restrictions. Aldinga Reef sits inside a sanctuary zone, so keep it as a snorkel or look-only area, not as a hunting backup.

TL;DR

Adelaide (Glenelg) is a Gulf St Vincent shore-diving plan: shallow limestone, west-facing water and best visibility after an easterly land breeze.

Aldinga Reef is flagged under the Encounter Marine Park Aldinga Reef Sanctuary Zone. Treat it as no-take unless official zoning proves otherwise.

Hallett Cove / Marino Rocks is the cleanest hunting entry. Port Noarlunga needs a boundary check because the reef and jetty area has protected dive-trail restrictions.

Use PIRSA for South Australian rules. Inland spearing is out, and rock lobster is not taken with a spear.

Where can you shore dive around Adelaide?

The useful entries are close to suburbia, but legal lines matter more than distance from the car. Keep the gun outside sanctuary or aquatic reserve water, and abandon the dive when a boundary is unclear.

Spot	Type	Depth	Level	Access	Notes
Hallett Cove / Marino Rocks	Rocky reef below Marino cliffs	2-6 m	Intermediate shore entry	Rock access only when the exit ledges are dry and obvious	Snapper, sweep and squid are listed. It is sheltered by easterly wind, but Gulf chop makes the limestone awkward.
Port Noarlunga reef edges	Reef and jetty area with protected dive-trail limits	2-8 m	Boundary-check dive	Use only legal water outside the protected reef and jetty zone	The terrain is attractive, but the protected trail changes the plan. If you cannot confirm the line, do not hunt there.

Surface

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

Spots in Australia

🇦🇺Australia

SA Gulfs & Fleurieu

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.

Spearfishing in Adelaide (Glenelg): spots, seasons and rules

TL;DR

Where can you shore dive around Adelaide?

When are Adelaide conditions clean enough?

Which Adelaide reefs should fail closed?

What fish make sense near Glenelg?

How do South Australian rules differ?

FAQ

Sources

Nearby towns

Adelaide (Glenelg) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Adelaide (Glenelg) by email

Spots in Australia

🇦🇺Australia

SA Gulfs & Fleurieu

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.

TL;DR

Where can you shore dive around Adelaide?

When are Adelaide conditions clean enough?

Which Adelaide reefs should fail closed?

What fish make sense near Glenelg?

How do South Australian rules differ?

FAQ

Sources

Nearby towns

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.