Contadora (Las Perlas) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / Panama / Contadora (Las Perlas)
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◈Contadora (Las Perlas) · Panama
2.5
wave 0.6 m head-on
visibility~1m

Nottoday

Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 17:58

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.

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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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point your camera
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
updated 17:58
Contadora (Las Perlas) — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · swell period 12 s
wave 0.6 m head-onwind 12 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 30.3°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.

Monday · today2026-10-12
06:04–18:01 · waxing crescent
▲ 04:00▼ 10:00▲ 16:00▼ 22:00mid-range tides · 4.7 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-1.39 m
Wave0.60 m
Wind13 km/h
Water30 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 01:10 · high · moonrise 07:33 · moderate · moon overhead 13:30 · high · moonset 19:29 · moderate
Conditions window15:00–18:00
don't go fish
Hs 0.56 m · slightperiod 12.2 s head-onwind 12→16surge 2.8viz 1 m
0.56 mslight · up to ~1.12 · 207° head-on
12.2 sswell building
12→16gusts 16 km/h
2.8pounding the rocks
0.14m/s
1 mrain and mountain runoff
30.3°C5 mm + hood
▼22:00tide turn near
Atmosphere3 kmovercast
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • swell period 12 s
  • murky water (<2 m)
  • just after high water
confidence mediumtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
Coming soon

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Spots in Panama

🇵🇦Panama

Panama map →

Nearby towns

  • Panama City / Taboga
  • Coronado / Punta Chame
  • El Porvenir (Guna Yala)
  • Portobelo
  • Isla Grande

Caribbean coast

  • Colón / Fort Sherman
  • Bocas del Toro

Pacific coast (Gulf of Panama & Azuero)

  • Pedasí (Isla Iguana)
  • Playa Venao

Veraguas & Chiriquí (Coiba)

  • Santa Catalina (Coiba)
  • Boca Chica (Golfo de Chiriquí)
  • Puerto Armuelles

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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Contadora (Las Perlas) · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Best window · next 3 days

Next 3 days — not divable: wave up to 0.7 m

↓ low tide 22:29 · slack water ~21:44–23:14 bite times: 07:03–08:03 · 12:30–14:30

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
−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: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots →
−20 m

The 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 →
Contadora, Playa Larga reefContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Reef, shore or boat. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps
Isla BartoloméContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Island/islet edge, boat access. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps
Isla ChaperaContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Island/islet edge, boat access. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps
Isla Mogo MogoContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Island/islet edge, boat access. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps
Isla PachecaContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Island/islet edge, boat access. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps
Isla SabogaContadora (Las Perlas)
dangerous
Las Perlas special marine-coastal management zone (Ley 18/2007 art. 10): a band-powered speargun on breath-hold is allowed; scuba/hookah, other spearguns, sharks and rays, lobster 1 Dec–15 Apr and taking reef fish are banned. Ley 304/2022 art. 17 bans taking parrot-, angel-, damsel-, butterfly- and surgeonfish nationwide.
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
—

Island/islet edge, boat access. Las Perlas management zone — band speargun on breath-hold only; no reef fish (Ley 18/2007). Point placed off a named feature — not a confirmed dive or hunting site, unverified; coords approx.

Google Maps

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • no targets this month
Law

    Panama: breath-hold spearfishing is legal sport fishing with an ARAP licence (Ley 204 of 2021, art. 65–66); the catch may not be sold. Taking parrotfish, angelfish, damselfish, butterflyfish and surgeonfish is banned nationwide (Ley 304 of 2022, art. 17). Coiba National Park, Isla Iguana and the Zapatilla cays (Bastimentos) are closed to spearfishing; Las Perlas allows only a band speargun on breath-hold. Check current rules locally.

    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 Contadora (Las Perlas)

    Where can I spearfish in Contadora (Las Perlas)?

    Contadora (Las Perlas) has rock entry points such as Isla Bartolomé, Isla Pacheca and Contadora, Playa Larga reef. Contadora is the gateway island of the Las Perlas archipelago, about 60 km south-east of Panama City, with rocky islets and coral patches between Pacheca, Bartolomé, Mogo Mogo and Chapera. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

    When is the best season in Contadora (Las Perlas)?

    December–April (dry season, the north wind drives upwelling); May–November rain and south swell.

    How cold is the water in Contadora (Las Perlas)?

    From 18–22 °C during upwelling (January–April) to 27–29 °C in the rainy season; visibility 5–10 m.

    Is Contadora (Las Perlas) good for a beginner?

    Moderate: big tides in the Gulf of Panama (up to 5–6 m) and strong currents; cold layers in the dry season.

    Do I need a licence in Contadora (Las Perlas)?

    Contadora (Las Perlas): Panama: breath-hold spearfishing is legal sport fishing with an ARAP licence (Ley 204 of 2021, art. 65–66); the catch may not be sold. Taking parrotfish, angelfish, damselfish, butterflyfish and surgeonfish is banned nationwide (Ley 304 of 2022, art. 17). Coiba National Park, Isla Iguana and the Zapatilla cays (Bastimentos) are closed to spearfishing; Las Perlas allows only a band speargun on breath-hold. Check current rules locally.

    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres

    transparency ~10 m · satellite, yesterdaysatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore