Chios spearfishing forecast — Greece

Chios · Greece

5.5

wave 0.4 m head-on

visibility6m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · buoys · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 19:41

Sources & confidence

Sources: IPMA · NDBC & IH buoys · Copernicus Marine · Sentinel-2
Method: spearo sea-state engine: 6-model consensus + 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

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

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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.

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Emporios / Mavra VoliaChios

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: July and August belong to tourists here: coaches bring them in and the shoreline is solid swimmers. So you work at first light while the beach is empty, or take a boat and get out past the capes. Best window is June and September–October; May is closed across Greece, and you cannot enter with a gun after sunset.
tide: The shape of the beach matters far more than any tide: the black pebble falls away in a steep ramp, so even a small wave sets up a hard undertow that drags stones across your legs. The tide itself is a couple of tens of centimetres and changes nothing for hunting. After rain the gully behind the beach washes silt down for a day or two.
shelter: Emporios bay is cut into the south shore and the whole bulk of the island covers it from the north: the meltemi passes overhead and only what spills over the ridges reaches the water. It opens due south — with a notias or a south-easterly the swell walks into the throat and runs surf up the black pebbles.
conditions: A northerly is no obstacle here — come even with a fresh meltemi, at 3–20 m the water stands still. South and south-east cancel the day outright: the beach is steep, the pebble drops away at once, the wave hits that wall with a hard backwash, the entry gets dangerous and silt hangs from bottom to surface.

What's in season,
what the law says.

National minimum sizes + a 150 g floor (in the table below); grouper 1/day. Spearfishing is closed all May (ΠΔ 373/1985).

In season now

gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · 2–20 m · EU 1967/2006
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m · EU 1967/2006
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · 0–15 m · weight ≥750 g
Minimum by weight: ≥750 g (ΠΔ 62/2024). Don't take egg-bearing females.
dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus · 8–35 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
wreckfish / stone bass
Polyprion americanus · 30–60 m · EU 1967/2006
Deep wreck species. Does NOT count toward the grouper limit (different genus). 45 cm — to verify.
common dentex
Dentex dentex · 12–40 m · min 150 g
Premier reef target. No EU size — the 150 g minimum only. Ethical ≥40 cm (not law).
red porgy
Pagrus pagrus · 15–40 m · EU 1967/2006

Trachili / ElindaChios

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: The west coast lights up in the afternoon, and the best light over the reef comes about three hours before sunset. Just remember the law stops you at sundown. Boats are scarce here in any month, so nobody crowds you. The season opens on 1 June and all of May is closed; the clearest water comes in September and October.
tide: Nobody counts level here — ten to thirty centimetres and that is that. What you count is the flow around the point: over the shoulder of the reef it speeds up noticeably, and finning against it is pointless, better to enter up-current and drift along the rock. After a long northerly cold water rises along this coast: clearer, but you chill fast.
shelter: West coast: the full width of the island with a mountain ridge down its middle lies between you and the meltemi, so a north-easterly leaves this glassy. But Trachili reef itself sticks out as a bare headland and a west or north-west wind reaches it unprotected. Elinda bay next door is better closed — it cuts deep into the land.
conditions: North-east and east are your winds; at 3–25 m the visibility here can be ridiculous. With west or north-west the headland is out: the wave breaks over the tops of the reef, churned sand clouds the water and getting back out onto the rocks turns hard. On days like that move inside Elinda and work in there.
hazard: Depth and emptiness are the real risks: the reef drops past twenty-five metres and there is not a soul on the beach, so do not go deep without a partner. Put the buoy out anyway — boats bound for Volissos pass along this coast now and then. Off the point it sets you sideways; plan the way back on the strength you have left, not on the clock.
access: The Chios–Volissos road runs along the ridge; from it a paved branch drops to Elinda and a short dirt track goes to Trachili. There is a patch of gravel to park on and you enter over big boulders, so boots. From the shore it is about two hundred metres of swimming to the reef. From Limenas harbour at Lithi it is twenty minutes by boat along the coast.

'Trachili Reef', a named top dive, 3–25 m — western lee in the meltemi. Shore/boat.

Google Maps

Spearfishing in Chios: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing Chios is built around clear rocky water and lee selection. The south around Emporios and Kato Fana is the first plan in N/NE meltemi, while Trachili, Elinda and Giali give western shelter. The east side near Chios town is convenient, with dive-centre hubs and 3-20 m rock and sand, but it faces the strait. Expect grouper, dentex, sargos and octopus where structure supports them.

Where should you spearfish in Chios?

Use the island by wind side. South and west are the practical lee zones when the N/NE meltemi is active.

Spot	Type	Depth	Level	Access	Notes
Kato Fana / Vroulidia	Rocky reef and sand	0-15 m, dropping deeper	Intermediate	Shore or boat	SW tip near Emporios, southern lee and explicitly described as fishing-friendly.
Emporios / Mavra Volia	Volcanic black-pebble reef	3-20 m	Intermediate	Shore or boat	South coast leeward reef with a dive-centre presence.
Trachili / Elinda	Named reef	3-25 m	Intermediate	Shore or boat	Western lee in meltemi and a named top dive area.

What conditions matter most in Chios?

Best timing is Jun and Sep-Oct. When N/NE meltemi is running, avoid forcing the east side and work south or west instead. The Chios port camera helps with the town side but cannot judge Trachili or Giali for you. Greek legal baseline: May is totally banned (ΠΔ 373/1985); no licence since 2014; freediving-only; 5 kg/day. Do not touch antiquities or enter declared underwater archaeological zones.

FAQ

Do you need a license to spearfish in Chios?

No. The licence requirement ended in 2014; check the current state sign-up before you go.

Is May banned?

Yes. The national May spearfishing ban applies to Chios under ΠΔ 373/1985.

Where is the lee in N/NE meltemi?

Use the south around Emporios/Kato Fana and the west around Trachili/Elinda/Giali.

What fish are noted for Chios?

Grouper, dentex, sargos and octopus are the main species named for the island.

Is Karfas the best side?

It is convenient near town, but it faces the strait, so south or west can be better in meltemi.

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