Where can you spearfish in Angra do Heroísmo?

Cinco Ribeiras on the southwest coast is the one genuine hunting entry, in over the old-port pool and out along the wall to the lava arches. Silveira, Negrito and Porto Martins are bathing zones, better used as sheltered training or scout entries than as places to hunt.

Can you hunt inside the bathing zones?

No. Silveira, Negrito and Porto Martins are official bathing zones, and Silveira is a Blue Flag beach, so hunting is banned inside them. Use them as safe entries and take your fish off Cinco Ribeiras instead.

When is the sea calm enough at Angra?

Most of the year on the sheltered south side, and best in summer from June to September for warm, clear water. Because the bay faces south, it opens on a north wind with the south swell down under a metre; a direct south or southeast swell is what shuts it.

Which entry is safest for a first dive here?

Silveira, on the Angra waterfront under Monte Brasil. It is a Blue Flag bay, the calmest and most protected entry in the area and the natural place for a gear check or a scout, though you cannot hunt inside it.

Do I need a licence to spearfish here?

Yes. A Portuguese spearfishing licence from age 16, apnea only, daylight only, with an Alfa buoy within 30 m. Grouper and seahorses are protected, and the Azores may set their own regional details worth checking.

Angra do Heroísmo spearfishing forecast — Portugal

Angra do Heroísmo · Portugal

2.5

wave 1.3 m head-on

visibility1m

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 01:31

Sources & confidence

Sources: IPMA · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus
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.

spearo.app

calmupdated 01:31

Exposed coast — Terceira south-west — solo, off the rocks

DON'T GO

don't go · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.6 m)

wave 1.3 m head-onwind 19, gusts 43 km/hvisibility ~1 m

today, best window 06:00–09:00

fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 21.6°C

confidence low · verdict for the selected day

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

07:08–17:57 · full moon

▲ 00:00▼ 06:00▲ 12:00▼ 18:00 · 1.4 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide0.30 m

Wave2.26 m

Wind45 km/h

Water22 °C

fish activity: moonset 06:20 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:50 · high · moonrise 17:19 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high

Conditions window06:00–09:00

don't go fish ·

Hs 1.30 m · roughperiod 9.6 s head-onwind 19→43surge 0.9viz 1 m

1.30 mrough · up to ~2.60 · 335° head-on

9.6 sswell moderate

19→43gusts 43 km/h

0.9weak surge

0.17m/s

1 mrecent swell

21.6°C5 mm + hood

▲12:00tide turn near

Atmosphere9 kmovercast

moderatemoonset

wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.6 m)
steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
first hours of the flood — fish moving in

confidence lowtwilight

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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.

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Silveira bathing areaCoast — Angra do Heroísmo · Zona Balnear da Silveira

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: Year-round for a calm entry; crowded in summer, best early morning.
tide: Tide irrelevant — stair-off-the-pier and ramp entry at any water level.
shelter: East side of Angra bay under Monte Brasil; sheltered from W/SW, the most protected entry in the area.
conditions: Almost always workable in small-to-medium swell; only affected by direct S/SE swell.
hazard: Blue Flag bathing zone — hunting banned. Real hazards minimal: boat traffic by the pier and the odd SE swell.
access: 1.5 km from Angra centre; parking, showers, bar; enter by the old-port pier stairs or the ramp.

Not a hunting spot — it's a beach. The area's safest entry: gear check, breath-hold practice, scouting before the open coast.

Google Maps

Baía da Tumba / Fajã do FicherCoast — Angra do Heroísmo

dangerous

Pro · subscribers

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

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

Open in the app

Negrito bathing areaExposed coast — Terceira south-west · Zona Balnear do Negrito

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: Summer, early morning before the wind; busy with bathers in peak season.
tide: Any tide; at low water the slabs are exposed — mind the slippery basalt.
shelter: Low south-facing coast, backed by the island to the north; sheltered from N winds, open to S swell.
conditions: Diveable on N wind with small S swell; flat basalt slabs give a calm entry on a flat day.
hazard: Official bathing zone — hunting banned/inappropriate. Real danger: slippery slabs and shorebreak washing over them on exit as S swell builds.
access: Park by the Negrito fort; about a dozen sea-access stairs and ramps right at the water.

A swimming zone, not a hunting spot: use as a sheltered entry for freedive training/scouting, not for taking fish.

Google Maps

Cinco Ribeiras natural poolsExposed coast — Terceira south-west · Zona Balnear das Cinco Ribeiras

dangerous

best candidate for today

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: Summer (Jun-Sep) for warmest water (~22-24C) and best viz; morning before the thermal breeze.
tide: Tide not critical; pool entry slightly easier near high water.
shelter: SW coast: sheltered from N/NE winds by the Santa Bárbara massif. Open to S and SW swell.
conditions: Diveable on N/NE wind with small S swell (<1 m). Up to 25-30 m viz on a flat day.
hazard: MAIN HAZARD is the cave: entrance at 14 m, long galleries and tight corridors = entrapment risk. NEVER solo the cave. On the open wall, building swell and drift along the wall.
access: Road down to the leisure area, ramp and natural pool at the old port; enter via the pool then follow the underwater wall.

Terceira's premier dive site and the main SW freedive/hunt entry; lava arches and tunnels. Cave only with a buddy and surface support.

Google Maps

Porto Martins bathing areaCoast — Angra do Heroísmo · Zona Balnear do Porto Martins

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: Summer on W wind; morning before the easterly sea breeze picks up.
tide: Any tide; the sandy shallow dries out at low water — easier entry at mid-to-high tide.
shelter: East coast: sheltered from the prevailing W winds by the island; open to E/SE swell and wind.
conditions: Diveable on W wind with small E swell; inside the breakwaters it stays calm even on a breezy day.
hazard: Bathing zone with an artificial bay behind breakwaters — safe inside, hunting inappropriate. Outside: E swell hits the shore directly, shorebreak on the exit rocks.
access: Parking, bar, restaurants; enter from the sandy shallow or off the breakwater steps into deeper water.

Neighbouring municipality (Praia da Vitória), ~5 km / 10 min from Angra. Popular diver/snorkeler entry on the east coast — a fallback when the south is swell-blown. Scout from land first.

Google Maps

Biscoitos poolsCoast — Angra do Heroísmo

dangerous

Pro · subscribers

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

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

Open in the app

Ponta das ContendasExposed coast — Terceira south-west

dangerous

Ultra · subscribers

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

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.

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, Salema, Octopus, Mullet

In season now

Robalo (sea bass)
<4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
Salema
0–2 m · — · daytime
Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
Polvo (octopus)
1–6 m · high water · twilight
Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
Tainha (mullet)
0–2 m · — · —
Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
Santola (spider crab)
1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.

Law

🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)

✓⚠️ Madeira and the Azores run their OWN rules: in the Autonomous Regions the licence, the fees, the permitted gear and the limits are set by the region's own government, not by (DL 246/2000, art. 20.º n.º 1). The mainland figures — the licence fee, the daily cap, the spider-crab closed season, the mainland minimum-size table — do NOT apply here.
✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
✓The Azores have their own recreational-fishing act — DLR 9/2007/A, as currently in force. Spearfishing: breath-hold only, any breathing apparatus other than a snorkel is banned, and carrying the gun ready to fire out of the water is an offence (art. 8.º n.os 1-4). Not at night: sunset to sunrise (art. 8.º n.º 8).
✓A buoy is mandatory: yellow, orange or red, spherical or cylindrical, carrying a flag (DLR 9/2007/A, art. 8.º n.º 5). Distances: no spearfishing within 300 m of, or inside, class A, B and C harbours; within 100 m of, or inside, class D harbours and portinhos; and within 100 m of places commonly used for bathing (art. 8.º n.os 6-7).
✓The Azorean daily limit is counted in FISH, not in kilos: 10 fish and octopus per person per day, and 2 crustaceans (DLR 9/2007/A, art. 16.º n.os 1-2). Once you reach it you must stop; anything over the limit may not be carried, taken aboard or landed (n.º 4). Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) may not be taken at all (art. 16.º n.º 5 al. a).
✓A spearfishing licence is compulsory and it is PERSONAL (DLR 9/2007/A, art. 28.º n.º 2 al. a). It is issued for three years, a year, a month or a day; fishing without it is an offence (art. 29.º). Fish of 25 cm or more must be marked with a cut in the tail fin before you leave the spot or bring the catch ashore (art. 18.º).
✓Breath-hold GATHERING (limpets, barnacles) has its own regime in : gathering on a breath-hold dive is licensed as spearfishing (art. 6.º n.º 2), limpets (Patella candei gomesii and Patella aspera) are capped at 1.5 kg per person per day and ONLY on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and barnacles at 40 (art. 14.º n.º 1). The buoy rule is stricter than the spearfishing one: Alfa flag, a line no longer than 50 m, one buoy per gatherer (art. 7.º n.os 4-5).
✓Minimum sizes and closed seasons apply to recreational fishers too: art. 6.º extends the sizes and the periods to pesca lúdica, and closing a species' quota shuts it for recreational fishing the same day. We do NOT print the centimetres: whether the 2019 list is still current against later portarias was not checked — get the table from the DRP before you go.
✓Night is prohibited here too: spearfishing between sunset and sunrise is an offence under the decree-law itself (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d), which is in force in the Autonomous Regions as well.

⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change, and in the Autonomous Regions they are their OWN. Before heading out, check with the regional fisheries administration (Madeira / Azores), not with the mainland DGRM tables.

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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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 Angra do Heroísmo: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-20 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Angra do Heroísmo is Terceira's old harbour town, set in a south-facing bay the island shelters from the prevailing north swell. That flips the usual island logic: the water opens on a north wind, which blows offshore here, with the south swell down under a metre. Three of the four shore entries are official bathing zones where hunting is banned, useful only as sheltered training and scout entries. The real hunt is off Cinco Ribeiras, a wall dive with lava arches and a cave, high solo risk and no place to dive alone.

TL;DR

Angra sits in a south-facing bay on Terceira, tucked behind the island from the north swell that batters the rest of the Azores, so here you dive on a north wind and a small south swell, not the other way round.

Three of the four easy entries are official bathing zones (Silveira, Negrito, Porto Martins) where you don't hunt; they are sheltered doors for a gear check, breath-hold work or a scout, not places to fire a gun.

Cinco Ribeiras on the southwest coast is the one real hunting entry: in over the old-port pool, out along the wall to the lava arches, clear of swimmers. High solo risk, and the cave at 14 m is never a solo dive.

National DGRM rules apply, with the Azores' own regional specifics worth confirming: licence from 16, apnea only, daylight only, Alfa buoy within 30 m; grouper and seahorses protected, meagre closed through June.

Best spearfishing entries around Angra do Heroísmo

Only one of these is a hunting entry. Cinco Ribeiras on the southwest coast is Terceira's premier dive site, where you go in over the old-port pool and follow the wall out to the arches and tunnels. The other three, Silveira, Negrito and Porto Martins, are official bathing zones, better used as sheltered doors for training and scouting than as places to hunt. Silveira is the safest and calmest of them; Porto Martins is the east-coast fallback for the days a south swell shuts the Angra side down.

Spot	Type	Depth	Level	Access	Notes
Zona Balnear das Cinco Ribeiras	Lava-pool entry to a reef wall (old port, SW coast)	Wall and lava arches off the old-port pool; the cave mouth sits at 14 m, with visibility to 25-30 m on a flat day

Surface

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and the day's trends.

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The water column

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

The seabed

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The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

What's in season,
what the law says.

Spearfishing in Angra do Heroísmo: spots, seasons and rules

TL;DR

Best spearfishing entries around Angra do Heroísmo

North

Alentejo

Algarve

When can you spearfish in Angra do Heroísmo?

Can you hunt inside the bathing zones?

What fish and rules apply in Angra do Heroísmo?

FAQ

Sources

Nearby towns

Angra do Heroísmo spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Angra do Heroísmo by email

Spots in Portugal

Portugal

Azores

Madeira

Centre

Lisbon & West

Setúbal · Arrábida

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.

What's in season, what the law says.

TL;DR

Best spearfishing entries around Angra do Heroísmo

North

Alentejo

Algarve

When can you spearfish in Angra do Heroísmo?

Can you hunt inside the bathing zones?

What fish and rules apply in Angra do Heroísmo?

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.

What's in season,
what the law says.