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.
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.
point your camera
0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 11:45
Costa da Caparica — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.2 m + hitting the shore
wave 1.2 mwind 20, gusts 37 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
São João / Costa da Caparica stone groinsNorthern groin field · Espigões de São João / Costa da Caparica
borderline
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Early morning before the sea breeze and crowds; realistically only outside the bathing season (Oct–May) when there are no swimmers or lifeguards.
tide
High or incoming tide — at low water the groin dries out and shorebreak pounds it; on the push the rocks cover and fish move onto the structure.
shelter
Almost none: exposed Atlantic shore facing W/SW. Only the lee side of the groin itself gives any shelter, and only from a north wind.
conditions
Rare, narrow window: swell under ~0.6–0.8 m and light wind. Sand bottom clouds instantly and viz is usually poor; only worth it in dead-flat calm after several quiet days.
hazard
Shorebreak slamming the groin rocks is the main danger: on exit you can be thrown onto granite blocks. Add a rip/longshore current running along the groin that pulls into the channel. Bottom is mostly sand — little structure, little fish.
access
On foot along Praia de São João / the city beaches, entering off the sand beside a groin. Parking and the Transpraia train in summer; drive to São João da Caparica in winter.
This is not a rocky hunting coast but a sandy beach with groins — the only structure here is man-made. Anglers take robalo and sargo off the groin rocks; for spearing it's the best on offer but thin. Scout from land first.
Cova do Vapor jetty (Tagus river bar)River-mouth jetty · Molhe da Cova do Vapor
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Early morning timed to slack, off-season. Never at dusk/dark — there is boat traffic through the Tagus bar here.
tide
Slack water only. On the flood/ebb the bar runs hard through the mouth — do not be in the water then.
shelter
The NW face of the jetty takes the full Atlantic swell; the east (river) side is sheltered from ocean swell but is ruled by the Tagus tidal current.
conditions
Only in dead calm (swell <0.5 m) AND slack current around the turn of tide. Estuary water, often turbid and cold from river outflow; the true window is very narrow.
hazard
The most dangerous point on this coast: the Tagus bar current can sweep you into the shipping channel, there's active boat/fishing traffic at the river mouth, and the riprap jetty has entrapment risk as swell builds. Drownings have happened here. Solo — no.
access
Through Cova do Vapor village to the jetty base; enter off the sand/rocks at the landward end. Do not work out along the jetty — it leads to the open bar.
The jetty's rock base holds robalo and sargo (a known angling mark), but the bar hazards outweigh the catch. Land scout only, in calm and at slack, and only in a group — never solo.
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.
point your camera
≈
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».
Costa da Caparica — Praia do Tarquínio (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Praia do Tarquínio (Costa da Caparica). Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
Costa da Caparica — beach / coast (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Costa da Caparica beach/coast. Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Octopus, Mullet
In season now
Robalo (sea bass)
<4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
Sargo (white seabream)
1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
Dourada (gilthead bream)
1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
Very skittish — static ambush.
Salema
0–2 m · — · daytime
Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
Polvo (octopus)
1–6 m · high water · twilight
Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
Tainha (mullet)
0–2 m · — · —
Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
Santola (spider crab)
1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
✓Spearfishing licence required, daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required. (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º + 12.º-A; fees in , .) There is no minimum age for the licence, but under-16s are exempt from holding one when fishing accompanied by a licence holder (art. 12.º n.º 2 al. b).
✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º n.º 1; ).
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only (, art. 8.º/3 + 3.º/5; DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d).
✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver (, art. 4.º/2).
✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg (, art. 12.º/1).
✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too (, ; table).
✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g ( + EU Reg. 2019/1241; minimum-size table).
✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken (
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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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.
Local guide · Costa da Caparica
Spearfishing in Costa da Caparica: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in Costa da Caparica happens along a sand front south of Lisbon, facing west and wide open to Atlantic swell. There is no rock in front of the beach, so the sandy bottom clouds fast and good days are rare and short, needing swell under about 0.6 to 0.8 m and light wind. The rock that holds fish sits further south. A license is required and hunting is allowed on breath-hold only, in daylight.
TL;DR
Costa da Caparica is a west-facing sand beach south of Lisbon with no rock in front of it and full exposure to Atlantic swell; the real rock lies further south, toward Fonte da Telha and Cabo Espichel.
The diveable window is rare: swell under about 0.6 to 0.8 m and light wind, best after several calm days, because the sand bottom clouds as soon as the sea moves.
The two local marks, the São João groins and the Cova do Vapor jetty, are land-scout only; the jetty on the Tagus bar is the most dangerous point on this coast and never a solo dive.
National rules: license from age 16, freediving only, a signal buoy within 30 m, sea bass 36 cm and a 15 kg daily limit.
Where can you spearfish in Costa da Caparica?
The Caparica front is exposed sand, and its only two marks are land-scout spots, not dive sites. At the São João groins the main danger is shorebreak slamming the groin rocks: on exit you can be thrown onto the granite blocks, and a rip runs along the groin into the channel. The bottom is mostly sand, with little structure and little fish. The Cova do Vapor jetty, on the Tagus bar, is the most dangerous point on this coast: the bar current can sweep you into the shipping channel, there is boat and fishing traffic at the river mouth, and the riprap carries entrapment risk as swell builds. Drownings have happened here, so never dive it solo. The real hunting is on the rock further south, toward Fonte da Telha and Cabo Espichel.
How are the sea conditions in Costa da Caparica today?
The question here is not where but when. The window is narrow: swell under about 0.6 to 0.8 m and light wind, and it only pays off in dead-flat calm after several quiet days. The moment the sea moves, the sand lifts and visibility drops. The Tagus mouth is only a few kilometres away, and after heavy rain the river plume darkens the water. Check the beach cameras and the swell forecast before you head out.
✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
✓Distances between people: at least 20 m from another spearfisher (, art. 6.º n.º 3) unless you agree otherwise; from a boat, 50 m from other vessels, divers and set gear (art. 6.º n.º 2); every vessel must keep 50 m from your signalling buoy and from boats flying flag Alfa (art. 7.º n.º 6). The figure that circulates — «30 m between hunters» — is wrong: 30 m is the distance to YOUR OWN buoy.
✓What you may take into the water: the CAPTURE gear on a spearfishing dive is the speargun, a shellfish knife, a gaff (puxeiro) and an arrelhada (, art. 3.º n.º 3). That is not a ban on everything else: art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows equipment for cold protection, for buoyancy, for protection or safety and for carrying the catch, and any other equipment that does not permit the direct capture of specimens. Bait and groundbait are PROHIBITED in spearfishing (art. 5.º n.º 3). You may not carry or keep a speargun and a breathing apparatus aboard at the same time, nor carry the gun ready to fire out of the water or in a zone where spearfishing is banned (art. 3.º n.º 6). On any recreational-fishing boat the whole crew wears a lifejacket (art. 4.º n.º 3).
✓Where recreational fishing is closed altogether (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard zones (no exception) and in aquaculture establishments — in the LATTER only, fishing is possible when the concession-holder or owner formally authorises it; the shipyard bar has no such carve-out; within 100 m of the mouth of any marked sewage outfall; over beach-concession waters, to the extent the POOC sets; and in other zones closed by the port or maritime authority. For spearfishing and boat fishing specifically (n.º 2) the navigation channels of port and river bars, the approach channels and the buoyed channels are closed. There is NO «300 m from the beach» rule on the mainland — that number comes from Madeira's own act; on the mainland the distance is set by the POOC and by the capitania's edital.
✓The border rivers Minho and Guadiana: spearfishing is BANNED along both international stretches — bilateral Portugal-Spain agreements, art. 9.º n.º 3 (Minho, RAR 34/2023, in force since 26-05-2023) and art. 6.º n.º 1 (Guadiana, RAR 173/2025, in force since 07-12-2025), both reading «É proibida a pesca submarina». On the Guadiana it is also a serious offence (art. 19.º), and a 100 m strip alongside the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is closed separately (art. 5.º). The stretches run from the confluence with the Trancoso / the Chança down to the closing line at each mouth.
✓On the other Portuguese-Spanish border river stretches (outside the TIRM and the Guadiana maritime-jurisdiction zone) — Decreto 30/88, art. 6.º n.º 1: harpoons, gigs, tridents and any blunt instrument used to take fish are prohibited (al. e), as is «a pesca ou caça subaquática» with artificial light, and night fishing (al. g).
Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.
What fish can you spearfish in Costa da Caparica?
The targets are the same as along the Portuguese coast, led by sea bass, which comes in at dawn and dusk in water under 4 m, at the end of the ebb and the start of the flood, at a 36 cm minimum size. Near the Tagus mouth you also find meagre, minimum 42 cm, though it is closed under defeso from 1 to 30 June nationwide. On the rock further south you get white seabream (17 cm), gilthead (19 cm) and black seabream (23 cm); octopus is best in autumn, at a 750 g minimum. Salema is the easy near-surface target, but do not eat its head or guts. Grouper is fully protected.
FAQ
What is the best state of tide for spearfishing in Costa da Caparica?
For sea bass, the end of the ebb and the start of the flood, in water under 4 m, when the current eases. Near the Tagus bar the tide matters even more and the safe window is very short. The regime is Atlantic, with two high and two low tides a day.
Do I need a license to spearfish in Portugal?
Yes. A spearfishing license is required from age 16 and costs about 25 euros a year, with daily and monthly options. Hunting is on breath-hold only; scuba is banned. Confirm the current license with DGRM before you go.
What is the minimum size for sea bass in Portugal?
The minimum size for sea bass is 36 cm. Other minimums: white seabream 17 cm, gilthead 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm and meagre 42 cm; octopus is regulated by weight, at 750 g.
How far from the beach can you spearfish in Portugal?
National rules set no single fixed distance from shore. What matters is the mandatory signal buoy, which must stay within 30 m of the diver, plus any local restrictions set by the Capitania. Always check with the local Capitania before diving.
Is night spearfishing allowed in Portugal?
No. Spearfishing is allowed in daylight only, from sunrise to sunset. Using an artificial light to find or attract fish is banned; a torch is for safety only.
Portugal
Spain