Cartagena spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

• European seabassmin 25 cm
  Dicentrarchus labrax · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• gilthead seabreammin 20 cm
  Sparus aurata · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• white seabreammin 23 cm
  Diplodus sargus · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• two-banded seabreammin 18 cm
  Diplodus vulgaris · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• sharpsnout seabreammin 18 cm
  Diplodus puntazzo · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• salema / saupemin 15 cm
  Sarpa salpa · Mediterranean · RD 560/1995 Anexo II
  ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
• boguemin 11 cm
  Boops boops · Mediterranean · RD 560/1995 Anexo II
• striped seabreammin 20 cm
  Lithognathus mormyrus · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• grey mulletmin 16 cm
  Mugil / Chelon spp. · Mediterranean · RD 560/1995 Anexo II
• red porgymin 18 cm
  Pagrus pagrus · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• striped red mulletmin 11 cm
  Mullus surmuletus · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
• dusky groupermin 45 cm
  Epinephelus marginatus · Mediterranean · UE 2019/1241
  Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011).
• common octopus
  Octopus vulgaris · Mediterranean · 1 kg
  Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos.

• ✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (RD 347/2011, art. 3).
• ✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing (RD 347/2011).
• ✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — RD 347/2011, art. 16.d.
• ✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — RD 347/2011, art. 15.
• ✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — RD 347/2011, art. 16.a.
• ✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — RD 347/2011, art. 12.b.
• ✓Spearfishing banned in marine reserves/protected zones (without a special permit), in ports and at busy beaches/bathing areas. The exact distance to bathing zones is set by the autonomous community.
• ✓Min. sizes by caladero (RD 560/1995 + RD 347/2011 + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm Cantabrian-NW (rec.) / 36 cm Gulf of Cádiz / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
• ✓Only species in Annex I of RD 347/2011 may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
• ✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
• ✓There is no fixed national catch cap (RD 347/2011, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
• •Murcia: Law 2/2007; the spearfishing licence is processed separately at the CARM. Confirm the exact procedure page at carm.es.
• ✓Bans: RMIP Cabo de Palos–Islas Hormigas and Cabo Tiñoso — spearfishing banned (see zones).

• ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).

Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.

• 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.