Ayampe point (rocky)Ayampe
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
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Ayampe spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
visibility: 2 m
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge.
Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 22:20
Sources & confidence
- Sources
- 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
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
updated 22:20
Ayampe — solo, off the rocks
That is it for today — the day's windows have closed.
Tomorrow, best window 09:00–12:00
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.
Saturday · today2026-10-24
06:02–18:12 · full moon
▲ 02:00▼ 08:00▲ 14:00▼ 20:00 · 1.8 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.66 m
Wave1.12 m
Wind3 km/h
Water29 °C
fish activity: moonset 04:34 · moderate · moon underfoot 10:50 · high · moonrise 17:01 · moderate · moon overhead 23:10 · high
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 spotsThe 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
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.
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live
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».
more: Ayampe — Playa ↗
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- mahi-mahi⚠️ Closed 1 Jul–7 Oct. Minimum size 80 cm (TL) — the only regulated size in Ecuador.
- wahoo
- yellowfin tuna
- Pacific sierra
- almaco jack
- snapper
- croaker
- snook
- grouperNo national minimum size (verified:false). Slow-growing — set an ethical limit.
- sand/rock bass
- pompano
- barracuda
- roosterfishUsually catch-and-release sport. No national size.
Law
- ✓Authority: Viceministerio de Acuacultura y Pesca (Ministry of Production). Coastal recreational spearfishing is lightly regulated, but mind closed seasons and sizes.
- ✓Dorado (mahi): closed 1 Jul–7 Oct and 80 cm (LT) minimum — the only regulated size in Ecuador. PN Machalilla and the Galápagos Marine Reserve are no-take.
- ⛔ 🚫 Plan de Acción Tiburones: 9 sharks (white, whale, hammerhead ×4, oceanic, basking, bonnethead), manta (Manta birostris) and sawfish (Pristis pristis) — take/sale BANNED. Finning («aleteo») banned.
- ⛔ Sea turtles and marine mammals — no-take.
- ⛔ 🚫 Galápagos Marine Reserve and Machalilla NP (Isla de la Plata/Salango) — marine-resource extraction banned; hunting banned. REMAPE (El Pelado, Ayangue) — core reserve, hunting restricted.
Rules change. Before heading out, check with the Viceministerio de Acuacultura y Pesca (Ministry of Production); respect the dorado closure (1 Jul–7 Oct, 80 cm) and the no-take zones (PN Machalilla, Galápagos).
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 Ayampe
Where can I spearfish in Ayampe?
Ayampe has rock entry points such as Ayampe point (rocky). Ayampe is a surf-and-dive village on the Manabí/Santa Elena border, with rocky points and a river mouth. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Ayampe?
Cooler and clearer in the dry, garúa season (Jun–Nov); this Humboldt-touched coast is exposed and pelagic-rich.
How cold is the water in Ayampe?
Variable, ~20–26 °C — 3–5 mm suit. Upwelling can cool and clear it; Machalilla and Isla de la Plata are the highlights.
Is Ayampe good for a beginner?
Moderate–advanced: exposed, pelagic-rich coast with big fish; Machalilla national park sets protected zones.
Do I need a licence in Ayampe?
In Ayampe (mainland Ecuador) spearfishing is done as sport/recreational fishing (LODAP 2020) and, by culture and federation, on breath-hold (a pulmón) — apnea is recommended, but confirm the tourist permit and the LODAP regulation with MPCEIP/DIRNEA. Sharks, mantas and sawfish are NO-TAKE (Plan de Tiburones); dorado has a 1 Jul–7 Oct closed season and an 80 cm size. In Galápagos and Machalilla NP hunting is banned. See the guide.
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