Arecibo spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility & live cameras

spearo.app / Puerto Rico / Arecibo
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◈Arecibo · Puerto Rico
2.5
wave 1.7 m
visibility~1m

Nottoday

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: NDBC · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 23:28

Sources & confidence

Sources
NDBC · 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.

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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

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
updated 23:28
Arecibo — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.7 m (occasionally up to ~3.4 m)
wave 1.7 mwind 8 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 29.9°C
confidence high · 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
06:23–17:57 · full moon
▼ 01:00▲ 07:00▼ 14:00▲ 19:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.27 m
Wave1.64 m
Wind6 km/h
Water30 °C
fish activity: moonset 05:42 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:40 · high · moonrise 17:30 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.72 m · roughperiod 10.2 swind 8→15surge 21.1viz 1 m
1.72 mrough · up to ~3.43 · 350° at an angle
10.2 sswell building
8→15gusts 15 km/h
21.1pounding the rocks
0.11m/s
1 mrecent swell
29.9°C5 mm + hood
▼14:00tide turn near
Atmosphere34 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonset
  • wave 1.7 m (occasionally up to ~3.4 m)
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • dawn/dusk
confidence hightwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
Coming soon

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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Arecibo · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map

Atlantic hurricane season (Jun–Nov) — check the NHC forecast

Best window · next 3 days

Next 3 days — not divable: wave up to 2 m

transparency nearby ~16 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

〜 tide is minor here

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

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point your camera
−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.

See all spots →
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

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

The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.

Entry points

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 →
La Cueva del IndioArecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈2.2–16 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Shore access point La Cueva del Indio, roughly 6.2 km from Arecibo. Marker position: 18.493° N, 66.643° W. Depths reach about 9 m. On a line to the north-west, NOAA bathymetry gives roughly 11 m at 50 m and 17 m at 200 m out. The tidal range is small.

Google Maps
La Poza del ObispoArecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈4.5–14 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Natural pool/reef 3–12 m — legal (calm only), beginner–intermediate; snapper, reef fish. Estimated.

Google Maps
Los Tubos (Manatí)Arecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈2.5–4.7 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Reef 3–10 m — legal (calm only), beginner; reef fish. Estimated. Marker position: 18.471° N, 66.455° W. Survey soundings near the mark run from 2.5 m to 5 m.

Google Maps
Mar ChiquitaArecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈2.0–11 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Mar Chiquita is a shore entry about 23 km from Arecibo. The pin sits at 18.474 N / 66.485 W on the chart. Maximum depth is around 15 m. Heading out to the north-east, the bottom is about 8 m deep 50 m from the marker and 16 m at 200 m.

Google Maps
Peñón Brusi / Punta MorrillosArecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈1.3–6.4 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Rocky reef, 3–12 m — legal (outside reserves). Hogfish, lobster (by hand only), snapper. Tides here rise and fall only a little. Marker position: 18.493° N, 66.630° W. Survey soundings near the mark run from 1.3 m to 6 m.

Google Maps
Tortuguero reef (Vega Baja)Arecibo
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—
Seabed depth of the selected area
≈1.5–4.7 m (bathymetry NOAA CUDEM/CoNED, 3 m)

Reef, 3–10 m — legal (outside reserves). Lobster (by hand only), snapper. This spot is exposed to open-ocean swell, so the sea here is rougher than right off the town; pick a calm day. The tidal range is small.

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.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • mutton snapper
    Lutjanus analis · 5–25 m · on the current by structure · dusk/night
    Mutton snapper on the sand-reef edge — spooky, long float line & patience, best at dusk. ⚠️ Closed 1 Apr–30 Jun (federal, 50 CFR 622).
  • yellowtail snapper
    Ocyurus chrysurus · 3–25 m · on the current by structure · dusk/night
    Min 12″ (30 cm, federal). Small midwater snapper over the reef; comes up on a drift, best at dusk.
  • red hind
    Epinephelus guttatus · 8–30 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    Red hind in reef holes, by day. ⚠️ Grouper closed 1 Feb–30 Apr + red hind 1 Dec–last day Feb (federal) → target May–Nov only. Vulnerable, take sparingly.
  • crevalle jack
    Caranx hippos · 1–20 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    Crevalle jack on the reef edge on the current, by day — quick, a strong fighter.
  • parrotfish
    Scaridae · 2–25 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    ❓ Not regulated in Reglamento 7949, but a herbivorous reef-cleaner — conservatively DON'T shoot it.
  • lionfish
    Pterois volitans · 3–40 m · on the current by structure · daytime
    Invasive — culling is ENCOURAGED year-round (MTIASIC/WECAFC). Venomous spines — careful; flesh edible.
off season: hogfish (Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun) · cero mackerel (Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr)
Law
  • ✓A is required — tourists included (apply at the Oficina de Permisos).
  • ✓Nassau and goliath grouper are closed year-round; parrotfish and queen conch (carrucho) are protected (federal + ).
  • ⛔ 🚫 Nassau grouper (cherna) and goliath (guasa), plus queen conch (carrucho) — federal no-take. Lobster may NOT be speared (Art. 8.18) — hand/trap only.
  • ⛔ 🚫 Sea turtles, marine mammals and Acropora corals — no-take (ESA). Spearfishing is banned in marine reserves (Tres Palmas, Canal Luis Peña), bathing zones and within 100 ft of shore.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with the DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) and the federal NOAA rules (50 CFR 622).

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 Arecibo

Where can I spearfish in Arecibo?

Arecibo has rock entry points such as La Poza del Obispo, Los Tubos (Manatí) and Peñón Brusi / Punta Morrillos. Arecibo has La Poza del Obispo by the Los Morrillos lighthouse: a natural pool/reef for snorkel/dive. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Arecibo?

Atlantic: in winter (Dec–Mar) a big ground swell shuts the water, murkier. Best in summer and calm spells; it faces N.

How cold is the water in Arecibo?

Warm, ~26–28 °C — 2 mm. Murkier in winter from the ground swell; calm summer windows work.

Is Arecibo good for a beginner?

Advanced: the winter ground swell makes the north unworkable; dive in the summer calms.

Do I need a licence in Arecibo?

In Arecibo (a US territory) spearfishing is legal on breath-hold only — scuba is banned (Fishing Regulation 7949, Arts. 18.2 & 18.9); the speargun, Hawaiian sling and pole spear are all legal on a single breath (Arts. 4.6, 22.1.g). The spear stays unloaded within 100 ft (30.48 m) of ALL coastline (Art. 8.6) and is banned in bathing areas, off piers and in reserves (8.5) and at night, except for lionfish (8.5). Lobster may not be speared (8.18). You need a DRNA recreational sea licence from age 13, even from shore (resident $20, 60+ $0, US non-resident $35, foreign visitor $50; Art. 16); in federal waters and on a charter none is needed. Never shoot Nassau or goliath grouper or queen conch — federal no-take. See the guide.

Full guide: culebra and Vieques: island spearfishing →
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