Veli Rat (Dugi otok) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

• common dentexmin 30 cm
  Dentex dentex · 12–40 m ·
• gilthead seabreammin 20 cm
  Sparus aurata · 2–20 m ·
• European seabassmin 30 cm
  Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m ·
• white seabreammin 15 cm
  Diplodus sargus · 0–12 m ·
• striped seabreammin 20 cm
  Lithognathus mormyrus · 2–20 m ·

• ✓Speargun fishing is allowed ONLY with the SPORT sea-fishing licence (dozvola za športski ribolov na moru) — the ordinary recreational licence does NOT cover it; tourists are eligible. 2026 fees: 1-day €10 / 3-day €25 / 7-day €45 / annual €79.63, plus mandatory HSSRM membership €10. Buy the day/multi-day online at ribarstvo.mps.hr; the annual is issued via HSSRM/clubs.
• ✓Breath-hold only, minimum age 16, daylight hours only, no more than 2 spearguns per diver, and a signal (marker) buoy is mandatory.
• ✓Kirnja (dusky grouper): spearfishing closed 1 Jul–31 Aug and max 1 specimen otherwise; overall recreational bag 5 kg/day. A vulnerable, slow-growing fish — release when in doubt.

• ⛔ Fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) — strictly protected, taking/disturbing prohibited (mass die-off from a pathogen).
• ⛔ Date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) — harvesting strictly banned (destroys the reef).
• ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and monk seal (Monachus monachus) — protected, taking/disturbing prohibited.

Rules change and fees/seasons are updated yearly. Before heading out, check the Ministry of Agriculture fisheries portal (ribarstvo.mps.hr) and get the SPORT licence (the annual via HSSRM/a club); a speargun without it is illegal.

• 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.