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
calmupdated 03:02
Aveiro / Costa Nova — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.7 m)
wave 1.3 mwind 5 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 18.3°C
confidence medium · 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.
Thursday · today2026-09-10
07:10–19:52 · new moon
▲ 02:00▼ 08:00▲ 15:00▼ 21:00 · 3.3 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-1.26 m
Wave1.14 m
Wind20 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonrise 06:17 · moderate · moon overhead 13:00 · high · moonset 19:30 · moderate · moon underfoot 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish ·
Hs 1.34 m · roughperiod 5.7 swind 5→11surge 5.2viz 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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
Costa Nova central groyneCosta Nova, central groyne · Esporão Central da Costa Nova
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn before the nortada, summer to early autumn. Cold upwelled water after any run of N/NW wind.
tide
Slack water, when the current along the stones is weakest; on a hard-running tide the rip beside the groyne sets seaward.
shelter
Same as the whole stretch: no natural shelter, open at 280°, and only the groyne's own bulk gives a thin lee in N/NE wind.
conditions
Swell under ~0.5–1 m and light or offshore E/NE wind, summer flat spells only. ~3.1 m — slightly shallower than the north groyne, so it fills with sand faster and closes out sooner.
hazard
The seaward rip along the groyne is the standard exit hazard on this coast. Shorebreak slams the rock armour: enter and exit off the sand beside the structure, never off the stones. Visibility drops fast the moment any swell arrives.
access
Costa Nova: park in town, walk down onto the beach to the central groyne and enter off the sand beside it. The point is ~350 m seaward of the head.
«Praia da Costa Nova — Pontão Sul» of the pesqueiros register; point ~350 m seaward of the head. ~3.1 m.
Costa Nova north groyneCosta Nova, north groyne · Esporão Norte da Costa Nova
borderline
best candidate for today
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn, before the nortada fills in from the N/NW in the late morning. Summer to early autumn; after a nortada run expect genuinely cold upwelled water, several degrees down in a day or two.
tide
Dive the slack, when the current along the stones is weakest. On a hard-running tide the rip beside the groyne pulls seaward — that is how a groyne field works.
shelter
No natural shelter — open west-facing sand at 280°. The groyne itself gives a thin lee on its downwind side in N/NE wind, and nothing against the dominant NW swell.
conditions
Swell under ~0.5–1 m with light or offshore E/NE wind, in a short summer flat spell — and that is the whole window. ~3.4 m over sand: any swell turns the groyne zone into shorebreak with sand in the water and near-zero visibility.
hazard
The rip along the groyne pulls straight out to sea — plan your exit before you get in, and never fight it, swim across it. Shorebreak against the rock armour can throw you onto the stones: enter and exit off the sand beside the groyne, never off the stones. Cold water for this coast, and spearfishing is banned from sunset to sunrise and within 50 m of a marked swimming zone.
access
Costa Nova: park in town, walk onto the beach and along it to the groyne, then enter off the sand beside it — never off the stones. The point is ~220 m seaward of the groyne head.
Head of the north groyne per OSM; point ~220 m seaward. The only hard structure on a sand coast — it gathers sea bass and bream. ~3.4 m.
Costa Nova south groyneCosta Nova, south groyne · Esporão Sul da Costa Nova
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn before the nortada, summer to early autumn. It is quiet down here at any hour — that is the reason to come.
tide
Slack water; on a running tide the rip along the stones sets seaward. The shallow ground here reads best around low water.
shelter
No shelter — open sand at 280°. The groyne gives a thin lee in N/NE wind, and nothing else does.
conditions
Swell under ~0.5 m and light or offshore E/NE wind. At ~2.4 m this is the shallowest of the Costa Nova groynes, so it is the first to fill with sand and the first to close out.
hazard
The seaward rip along the groyne, and shorebreak on the rock armour — enter and exit off the sand, never off the stones. You are away from the town and away from other people, so a problem here is your problem alone: do not dive it solo on a marginal day. Cold upwelled water after a nortada run.
access
From Costa Nova, a longer walk south down the beach to the last groyne of the field; enter off the sand beside it. The point is ~220 m seaward of the head.
The south Costa Nova groyne, point ~220 m seaward of the head. ~2.4 m.
Praia da Vagueira groynePraia da Vagueira · Esporão da Praia da Vagueira
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn before the nortada, summer to early autumn. Treat it as a scout rather than a plan — go and look, but don't drive out expecting a dive.
tide
Slack around low water. On a running tide the rip along the groyne sets seaward; at this depth the sand is stirred up as soon as anything moves.
shelter
None — open west-facing sand at 280°, ~6.5 km south of Costa Nova. Only the groyne itself gives a thin lee in N/NE wind.
conditions
~2 m, the shallowest point of this set: it needs swell under ~0.5 m and light or offshore E/NE wind, and it closes out before anywhere else on this coast.
hazard
This is the sector with the highest shoreline recession in the region, 9.08 m per year: the beach profile in front of the groyne changes from year to year, so do not trust an old mental map of the sandbank. The rip along the stones sets seaward and shorebreak slams the rock armour — enter and exit off the sand only. Very shallow, so the water goes opaque the moment there is any swell.
access
Praia da Vagueira, ~6.5 km south of Costa Nova: onto the beach and along to the groyne, entering off the sand beside it. The point is ~220 m seaward of the head.
Praia da Vagueira is named a prime sea-bass spot; point ~220 m seaward of the groyne head, ~6.5 km from Costa Nova. ~2 m.
São Jacinto north jetty — ocean sideSão Jacinto, north jetty · Molhe Norte de São Jacinto — lado oceânico
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn, before the nortada fills in from the N/NW and blows all afternoon. Summer to early autumn; a nortada run pulls up cold upwelled water and the temperature can drop several degrees in a day or two.
tide
Slack water only — the point sits right beside the ebb jet of the Aveiro bar, which pours out hard, and the flood runs in the same way. Never plan a dive here on a running tide.
shelter
Nothing natural shelters this: 280°, full Atlantic exposure. Only the jetty wall itself breaks anything, and the outer NW face where the point sits is the side that takes the swell head-on.
conditions
You have ~11 m under you, the deepest structure of the whole area, but the window is rare: swell under ~0.5–1 m and light or offshore E/NE wind in a summer flat spell. Anything more and the outer face is unworkable — sand in the water and no visibility.
hazard
This is the jetty where three recreational fishermen were swept off by a wave and drowned. Waves overtop the stones; the port has warning boards and a traffic light that turns red when access to the breakwater is forbidden — respect it, and never walk out in swell. The bar's ebb jet runs right beside the point and shipping uses the bar: stay outside the lighthouse-to-lighthouse line and more than 25 m off the channel margin. Boat access is the sane way to dive it; from land it means a long exposed walk and an entry beside a structure that kills people.
access
By boat is the sane option. From land: São Jacinto is reached from Aveiro by the ferry across the ria or the long road round, then it is a long exposed walk along a quiet, half-wild dune coast; enter off the sand, never off the jetty stones.
«S. Jacinto — Molhe Norte» of the pesqueiros register. Outer (NW) face, ~250 m off the head, clear of the bar approach. ~11 m — the deepest structure here.
Aveiro bar, south jetty — ocean side (outside the port channel)Aveiro bar, south jetty · Molhe Sul da Barra de Aveiro — lado oceânico (fora do canal do porto)
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn, before the nortada: the summer N/NW wind fills in from late morning and blows hard all afternoon. Season: summer to early autumn; after a run of nortada, upwelling brings cold water and the temperature can drop several degrees in a day or two.
tide
Slack water only. This is the mouth of the Ria de Aveiro: the ebb pours out through the bar as a strong jet and the flood runs in just as hard. You do not dive near the bar on a running tide.
shelter
No natural shelter at all — a fully open west-facing coast at 280°. The jetty itself is all there is: its south face gives a narrow lee in N/NW wind, and nothing against the dominant NW swell.
conditions
Swell under ~0.5–1 m with light or offshore E/NE wind, in a short summer flat spell. You have ~7.2 m under you — deep for this coast — but any real swell turns the foot of the jetty into shorebreak with sand in the water and near-zero visibility.
hazard
Falls from the stones: in a single year there were 11 accidents of people falling from this south jetty. The port has reinforced the warning boards and installed a traffic light that turns red when access to the breakwater is forbidden — respect it, and never walk out on the jetty in swell. Commercial shipping enters and leaves the bar a short distance north: stay outside the lighthouse-to-lighthouse line and more than 25 m off the channel margin. Rips run along the structure and pull seaward.
access
From Praia da Barra: walk south of the jetty and enter off the sand — never off the jetty stones themselves. It's a busy resort beach under the tall lighthouse, lifeguarded, so keep 50 m clear of the marked swimming zone.
The «Molhe Sul» of the pesqueiros register. Point south of the jetty, on the Praia da Barra side, outside the Aveiro port navigation channel. ~7.2 m.
Praia da Barra — surf south of the jettyPraia da Barra · Praia da Barra — rebentação a sul do molhe
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn, before the nortada. Summer to early autumn only, and even then it is a surf-zone opportunity rather than a plan for the day.
tide
Low water and the start of the flood, when the surf zone is shallowest and the water is cleanest. The bar is a short way north, and its ebb jet is not somewhere to drift towards.
shelter
None. Open sand at 280°, taking the full NW swell — the busiest beach of the sector and one of the most exposed stretches of mainland Portugal. The jetty to the north blocks nothing at this point.
conditions
Only a genuine summer flat spell: swell under ~0.5 m and light or offshore E/NE wind. ~3 m of water over sand, so the least swell fills it with sand and visibility goes to nothing.
hazard
Shorebreak and rip currents: on this coast the rips run seaward along the groynes and jetties, and that is how people get taken out here. Lifeguarded bathing beach in season — keep 50 m clear of the marked swimming zone, and remember spearfishing is banned from sunset to sunrise. Cold upwelled water after a nortada run; dress for it.
access
Straight off the sand at Praia da Barra, south of the jetty, and swim out ~350 m. Busy resort beach with the tall lighthouse, so expect swimmers and work well away from them.
The source names Praia da Barra a prime sea-bass spot. Point ~350 m out, south of the jetty. ~3 m.
Praia de São Jacinto — ocean frontSão Jacinto · Praia de São Jacinto — frente oceânica
borderline
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Dawn in a summer flat spell, before the nortada. Honestly: this is the weakest candidate of the Aveiro set — no structure, and no reason to choose it over the groynes unless you are already in São Jacinto.
tide
Slack water. The Aveiro bar is south of here and its ebb jet is not something to drift toward, so do not dive this on a running tide.
shelter
None whatsoever. Open Atlantic at 280°, an extensive, almost wild dune shore with nothing on it to break wind or swell.
conditions
Flat calm only: swell under ~0.5 m and light or offshore E/NE wind, at ~4.6 m over open sand ~500 m off the beach. Even then there is no structure to work — visibility over sand is the only thing you are judging.
hazard
Open exposed ocean beach with no one on it: rip currents, a long swim back and no help nearby. Cold upwelled water after any nortada run. The bar and its shipping are to the south — stay well clear of the channel and its lighthouse-to-lighthouse line.
access
São Jacinto is reached from Aveiro by the ferry across the ria or the long road round; then walk over the dunes and swim out ~500 m. The beach here has accreted because the north jetty blocks the southward littoral drift, which is exactly why there is nothing out here but sand.
São Jacinto ocean front north of the bar, ~500 m out. Sand, no structure — the weakest Aveiro candidate. ~4.6 m.
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.
In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, 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.
Sargo (white seabream)
1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
Dourada (gilthead bream)
1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
Very skittish — static ambush.
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)
✓Spearfishing licence required, daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required. (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º + 12.º-A; fees in , .) There is no minimum age for the licence, but under-16s are exempt from holding one when fishing accompanied by a licence holder (art. 12.º n.º 2 al. b).
✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º n.º 1; ).
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only (, art. 8.º/3 + 3.º/5; DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d).
✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver (, art. 4.º/2).
✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg (, art. 12.º/1).
✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too (, ; table).
✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g ( + EU Reg. 2019/1241; minimum-size table).
✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken (
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.
FAQ — spearfishing in Aveiro / Costa Nova
Where can I spearfish in Aveiro / Costa Nova?
Aveiro / Costa Nova has rock entry points such as Aveiro bar, south jetty — ocean side (outside the port channel), São Jacinto north jetty — ocean side and Praia da Barra — surf south of the jetty. A long open sandy beach, fully swell-exposed with little rock, so it's a low priority for shore spearfishing. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Aveiro / Costa Nova?
Late spring to autumn, but only in the small-sea windows — this is a big-swell coast (Nazaré/Peniche). Summer is the most reliable.
How cold is the water in Aveiro / Costa Nova?
~15–19 °C. A 5 mm suit is enough in summer; 7 mm with a hood in the cool months. Upwelling can chill the water suddenly.
Is Aveiro / Costa Nova good for a beginner?
Demanding and swell-dependent. On small-sea days it's approachable near the sheltered reefs; with swell, it's for the experienced.
Do I need a licence in Aveiro / Costa Nova?
Yes — in Aveiro / Costa Nova, as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.
✓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.
✓Distances between people: at least 20 m from another spearfisher (, art. 6.º n.º 3) unless you agree otherwise; from a boat, 50 m from other vessels, divers and set gear (art. 6.º n.º 2); every vessel must keep 50 m from your signalling buoy and from boats flying flag Alfa (art. 7.º n.º 6). The figure that circulates — «30 m between hunters» — is wrong: 30 m is the distance to YOUR OWN buoy.
✓What you may take into the water: the CAPTURE gear on a spearfishing dive is the speargun, a shellfish knife, a gaff (puxeiro) and an arrelhada (, art. 3.º n.º 3). That is not a ban on everything else: art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows equipment for cold protection, for buoyancy, for protection or safety and for carrying the catch, and any other equipment that does not permit the direct capture of specimens. Bait and groundbait are PROHIBITED in spearfishing (art. 5.º n.º 3). You may not carry or keep a speargun and a breathing apparatus aboard at the same time, nor carry the gun ready to fire out of the water or in a zone where spearfishing is banned (art. 3.º n.º 6). On any recreational-fishing boat the whole crew wears a lifejacket (art. 4.º n.º 3).
✓Where recreational fishing is closed altogether (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard zones (no exception) and in aquaculture establishments — in the LATTER only, fishing is possible when the concession-holder or owner formally authorises it; the shipyard bar has no such carve-out; within 100 m of the mouth of any marked sewage outfall; over beach-concession waters, to the extent the POOC sets; and in other zones closed by the port or maritime authority. For spearfishing and boat fishing specifically (n.º 2) the navigation channels of port and river bars, the approach channels and the buoyed channels are closed. There is NO «300 m from the beach» rule on the mainland — that number comes from Madeira's own act; on the mainland the distance is set by the POOC and by the capitania's edital.
✓The border rivers Minho and Guadiana: spearfishing is BANNED along both international stretches — bilateral Portugal-Spain agreements, art. 9.º n.º 3 (Minho, RAR 34/2023, in force since 26-05-2023) and art. 6.º n.º 1 (Guadiana, RAR 173/2025, in force since 07-12-2025), both reading «É proibida a pesca submarina». On the Guadiana it is also a serious offence (art. 19.º), and a 100 m strip alongside the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is closed separately (art. 5.º). The stretches run from the confluence with the Trancoso / the Chança down to the closing line at each mouth.
✓On the other Portuguese-Spanish border river stretches (outside the TIRM and the Guadiana maritime-jurisdiction zone) — Decreto 30/88, art. 6.º n.º 1: harpoons, gigs, tridents and any blunt instrument used to take fish are prohibited (al. e), as is «a pesca ou caça subaquática» with artificial light, and night fishing (al. g).
Portugal
Spain