Canto Grande / MariscalBombinhas
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Bombinhas spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
wave 0.6 m
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and noticeable surge.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:53
Sources & confidence
- Sources
- IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
- Method
- Model consensus, read per window
- Freshness
- Re-read every hour, per coast
Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine
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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.
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
calmupdated 13:53
Bombinhas — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · strong wind 16 km/h, gusts 36 — caution
wave 0.6 mwind 16, gusts 36 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~3 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 18.1°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.
Wednesday · today2026-07-22
07:00–17:41 · first quarter
▼ 04:00▲ 07:00▼ 11:00▲ 14:00▼ 16:00▲ 19:00 · 0.2 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.00 m
Wave0.52 m
Wind6 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:07 · moderate · moon underfoot 06:40 · high · moonrise 12:04 · moderate · moon overhead 19:00 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.62 mperiod 4.2 swind 16→36surge 1.2viz 2 m
0.62 mup to ~1.24 · 72° at an angle
4.2 sswell moderate
16→36gusts 36 km/h
1.2noticeable surge
0.11m/s
2 mrain and mountain runoff
18.1°C5 mm + hood
▲14:00tide turn near
Atmosphere6 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- strong wind 16 km/h, gusts 36 — caution
- murky water (visibility ~2 m)
- first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence lowday
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: 1152 spots across 189 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
SepulturaBombinhas
borderlineexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
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
Open the seafloor map →What's in season,
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- fat snookState closed seasons: BA 15 May–31 Jul; ES 1 May–30 Jun; PR 1 Nov–31 Dec; SP — none.
- common snookState closed seasons: BA 15 May–31 Jul; ES 1 May–30 Jun; PR 1 Nov–31 Dec; SP — none.
- dusky grouper⚠️ Closed season 1 Nov–28 Feb (national). Size 47–73 cm. Vulnerable — go easy.
- gag grouper
- black grouper
- comb grouper
- snowy grouper⚠️ Closed 1 Sep–31 Oct (SE/S). Deepwater grouper.
- bluefish
- whitemouth croaker
- black drum
- lebranche mulletManaged by annual quotas/seasons. Min 35 cm; estuary bars may be restricted in season.
- king mackerel
- serra Spanish mackerel
- mahi-mahi
- greater amberjack
- crevalle jack
- silver porgy
- lionfishInvasive, spreading in NE Brazil. Culling encouraged. Venomous spines — careful; flesh edible.
- Atlantic goliath grouper🚫 Full moratorium since 2002, indefinite (CR, Portaria MMA 148/2022). Do not take, release it. Fine R$700–100,000 + gear seizure.
Law
- ✓A is required (category B – boat covers apnea spearfishing), issued on gov.br by the . Exempt: under-18 accompanied, men 65+/women 60+.
- ✓Apnea only: spearing on a tank/scuba is banned (artificial breathing apparatus prohibited — IBAMA rule).
- ✓Goliath grouper (mero, Epinephelus itajara): total moratorium since 2002, renewed (in force 2026+). Never a legal target — capture/transport/sale is an environmental offence.
- ✓Closed seasons (vary by state): true grouper & badejo in the N/NE 1 Aug–30 Sep; bluefish in the S/SE ~1 Dec–31 Mar; robalo reopens after 31 Jul (state-dependent). Mind minimum sizes.
- ⛔ 🚫 Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) — indefinite moratorium (CR). Not a legal target: do not take, release.
- ⛔ Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini/zygaena) and angel sharks (Squatina spp.) — red list, take banned. Don't shoot.
- ⛔ Sea turtles, whales/dolphins, seahorses — protected, taking/disturbing prohibited.
Rules change and vary by state. Before heading out, check on gov.br (recreational licence, MPA) and the state closed seasons/sizes; apnea only, goliath grouper is banned.
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 Bombinhas: spots, seasons and rules
MERO TOTAL MORATORIUM comes first in Bombinhas: do not shoot goliath grouper. The second rule is Arvoredo. The Marine Biological Reserve in front of the peninsula is no-take, so Arvoredo, Galés, Deserta and Calhau de São Pedro are not spearfishing spots. Keep to mainland rocks such as Sepultura and Canto Grande/Mariscal, outside the reserve. The stated water range is 18 to 24 °C, with 8 to 20 m visibility and summer often clearer. Brazil requires the gov.br recreational licence route and apnea-only spearfishing.
TL;DR
- MERO TOTAL MORATORIUM: goliath grouper is not legal in Bombinhas or anywhere else in Brazil.
- Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve is no-take. Keep the article and the dive plan on mainland rocks outside it.
- Sepultura and Canto Grande/Mariscal are the listed mainland options. Licence through gov.br, apnea only, no fee figures repeated.
Best mainland spearfishing spots in Bombinhas
Bombinhas is a clear-water peninsula, but the reserve boundary matters more than the postcard. Use mainland entries only, keep the float visible, and treat uncertain protected-area limits as closed.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sepultura | Sheltered granite cove | Shallow to moderate | Intermediate in calm water | Shore entry away from swimmers | A practical mainland option when visibility is good. It is not a route toward the reserve. |
| Canto Grande / Mariscal | Rocky coast and open beach | Shallow to moderate | Intermediate and more exposed | Shore entry with the exit chosen first | Use a small-sea window. If the open face is taking swell, skip it. |
What conditions matter in Bombinhas?
Summer is the clearest season in the local notes, often around 15 to 20 m visibility, while winter is closer to 8 to 10 m. The peninsula gives some shelter, but rock exits still depend on wind and swell direction. Legally, do not cross into Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve. Nationally, use the gov.br recreational licence, dive apnea only, avoid stale fee amounts, and check closed seasons and minimum sizes before keeping fish. Goliath grouper remains fully banned.
FAQ
Can you spearfish at Arvoredo?
No. Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve is no-take for hunting and fishing.
Do you need a licence in Bombinhas?
Yes. Use the gov.br recreational fishing licence service.
What visibility is typical?
The stated range is 8 to 20 m, with summer often clearer.
Is Sepultura inside the reserve?
It is a mainland option, but you still need to stay outside any protected boundary and posted restriction.
Can you spear goliath grouper?
No. It is under total moratorium in Brazil.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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