Darwin · Australia

5.3

wave <0.1 m

visibility3m

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

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 13:06

Sources & confidence

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
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.

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.

Google Play — QR code — point your camera

0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app

updated 13:06

Darwin — solo, off the rocks

BORDERLINE

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · current 0.31 m/s

wave <0.1 mwind 10 km/hvisibility ~3 mwindow 18:00–21:00

today, best window 18:00–21:00

fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 31.9°C

confidence medium · verdict for the selected day

Before entering, check the camera and the surge

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.

Sunday · today2026-10-25

06:16–18:45 · full moon

▲ 04:00▼ 10:00▲ 17:00▼ 23:00mid-range tides · 5.8 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-1.53 m

Wave0.06 m

Wind6 km/h

Water32 °C

fish activity: moon overhead 00:00 · high · moonset 05:10 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:30 · high · moonrise 17:54 · moderate

Conditions window12:00–15:00

don't go fish

Hs 0.04 m · calmperiod 8.3 swind 11→22surge 0viz 3 m

0.04 mcalm · up to ~0.08 · 278° at an angle

8.3 sswell moderate

11→22gusts 22 km/h

0weak surge

0.61m/s

3 mrecent swell

31.9°C5 mm + hood

▲17:00tide rising

Atmosphere7 kmovercast

highmoon underfoot

current 0.61 m/s
flood — water rising

confidence lowday

Open the seafloor map with entry points

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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.

Open the seafloor map

Bullocky PointDarwin

borderline

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈0.6–2.6 m (bathymetry AusSeabed, 33 m)

Bullocky Point is the headland that closes Fannie Bay to the south, and a Darwin fishing guide calls the bay's beaches usually sheltered, with a nook out of the wind in most directions. Rock and sand below, entry from the shore, around 0.5 to 2.5 m by bathymetry. At spring low it all but dries: go in on the flood or at high water. NT Health expects box jellyfish from October to the end of May and advises staying out of the sea then; Darwin's waters also hold saltwater crocodiles and tiger sharks.

Google Maps

NightcliffDarwin

borderline

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —
Seabed depth of the selected area: ≈0.5–2.2 m (bathymetry AusSeabed, 33 m) · area crosses a channel/structure

Rocky outcrops on the Nightcliff foreshore, where shore anglers work lures beside the rocks. A dive guide describes a small Nightcliff Reef close in, with coral heads, sponges and often poor visibility, but does not say where. Reef and rock below, around 0.5 to 2 m by bathymetry. At spring low it all but dries: go in on the flood or at high water. NT Health puts the box jellyfish season from October to the end of May and advises staying out of the sea then; crocodiles and tiger sharks share this coast.

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.

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».

connecting to the stream…

● LIVE↗

Darwin Trailer Boat Club — beach and Fannie Bay — Windy webcamWindy webcam — Darwin Trailer Boat Club — beach and Fannie Bay. Official windy.com player (a timelapse of recent stills), plays on the page. Webcams provided by windy.com — add new webcam: windy.com/webcams/add. Read the water before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam

What's in season,
what the law says.

Rules as of now — 25.10.2026 14:06 (Australia/Darwin)

In season now

barramundi
Lates calcarifer · 0–8 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
min 55 cm · ⚠️ The whole Northern Territory coast, its estuaries and its beaches are saltwater crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.
mangrove jack
Lutjanus argentimaculatus · 1–20 m · legal
min 35 cm · ⚠️ The whole Northern Territory coast, its estuaries and its beaches are saltwater crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.
golden snapper (fingermark)
Lutjanus johnii · 2–25 m · legal
no minimum size · ⚠️ The whole Northern Territory coast, its estuaries and its beaches are saltwater crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.
black jewfish
Protonibea diacanthus · 3–30 m · legal
no minimum size
Spanish mackerel
Scomberomorus commerson · 3–30 m · legal
no minimum size
red emperor
Lutjanus sebae · 15–45 m · legal
no minimum size
coral trout
Plectropomus spp. · 3–35 m · legal
no minimum size
stripey seaperch (Spanish flag)
Lutjanus carponotatus · 2–25 m · legal
no minimum size
blackspot tuskfish
Choerodon schoenleinii · 3–30 m · legal
no minimum size
estuary cod (goldspotted rockcod)
Epinephelus coioides · 1–25 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
max 120 cm · ⚠️ The whole Northern Territory coast, its estuaries and its beaches are saltwater crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.
tropical rock lobster (ornate)
Panulirus ornatus · 2–20 m · legal
no minimum size
squid / calamari
Sepioteuthis spp. · 1–12 m · legal
no minimum size
bream (pikey and yellowfin)
Acanthopagrus spp. · 0–6 m · legal
no minimum size · ⚠️ The whole Northern Territory coast, its estuaries and its beaches are saltwater crocodile habitat; assess the site before entering the water.

Law

•Spearfishing in Australia is governed by STATE law, not federal: the licence, the gear, the closed areas, the sizes and the all differ between NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, WA and TAS. Below is your state's pack; cross into the next state and the rules change at the border.
✓Federally listed threatened, migratory and marine species — white and whale sharks, sawfish, marine turtles and marine mammals among them — are protected in Commonwealth waters: killing, injuring or taking one there is an offence (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). In a state's own waters the same animals are protected by that state's list (see the protected-species panel). Never shoot, disturb or take them.
✓Marine park zoning applies ON TOP of the state's fishing rules: / Sanctuary / Preservation zones are full no-take, and on the Great Barrier Reef the marine park zoning sits on top of the Queensland rules. Check the boundaries on the managing agency's zone map before you enter the water (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003; NSW Marine Estate Management (Management Rules) Regulation).
✓Rock lobster may not be speared in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania or Western Australia — it is taken by hand (WA also allows a hand snare or blunt crook). The Queensland and Northern Territory pages read on 26 Sep 2026 publish no such rule, so there it is not stated either way. Abalone may not be speared in Victoria or Tasmania. Spearfishing in inland fresh waters is banned in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Sources: NSW Fisheries Management (General) Regulation; Fisheries Regulations 2019 (Vic); Fisheries Management (General) Regulations 2017 (SA); the state fisheries guides.
✓NT gear: a person using any underwater breathing apparatus may not have a spear-gun, and an amateur fisher may not take fish while using one — spearfishing is breath-hold only (Fisheries Regulations 1992, reg 43(1), 46(3)).
✓NT, a loaded spear-gun: only in the open sea, and never within 150 m of anyone who is not part of your group (Fisheries Regulations 1992, reg 43(2)).
✓NT protection areas: in the five protection areas (Charles Point, Howland Shoal and Emu Reef, Lorna Shoal, Melville Island/Elphinstone Reef, Bathurst Island) amateur fishing from an unregistered vessel is an offence (Fisheries Regulations 1992, reg 10A, Schedule 1AB). The boundaries are the regulation's coordinates; our map does not draw them.

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 Darwin

Where can I spearfish in Darwin?

Darwin has rock entry points such as Bullocky Point and Nightcliff. Darwin's two marks sit on the city foreshore and both are reached from the shore: Bullocky Point, which closes Fannie Bay to the south between the East Point and Doctors Gully reserves, and the rocky outcrops at Nightcliff, where a local dive guide reports often poor visibility. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Darwin?

Dry season (May–Sep) — calmer, clearer water; the wet (Nov–Apr) brings cyclones, run-off and box jellyfish; crocs all year — info.

How cold is the water in Darwin?

26–32 °C — 1–2 mm/lycra (a stinger suit Oct–May); tropical water, big tides, murky inshore; crocs (info).

Is Darwin good for a beginner?

Info/mostly offshore: crocs, stingers and big tides inshore — not ranked as a shore city.

Do I need a licence in Darwin?

Darwin is in NT. No — the Northern Territory has no recreational licence, but a loaded spear-gun is allowed only in the open sea and never within 150 m of people outside your group (Fisheries Regulations 1992, reg 43(2)). Spearfishing on scuba is banned everywhere, rock lobster may never be speared, and marine-park sanctuary/green zones are no-take. See the guide for the state-by-state detail.

Full guide: spearfishing in Australia →

Surface

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

Spots in Australia

🇦🇺Australia

Nearby towns

Northern Territory

Help us make it better

The water column

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The seabed

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Darwin

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

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Darwin by email

Spots in Australia

🇦🇺Australia

Nearby towns

Northern Territory

Help us make it better

A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.The call is on the rock.

Where to get in off the rocks.

Look at the water right now.

What's in season, what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Darwin

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.