Today — sit it out.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
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.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
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 spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
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.
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 mapReef, 3–15 m — legal (outside reserves). Lobster (by hand only), grouper, snapper. Marker position: 18.247° N, 65.623° W. The nearest protected area on our map, Reserva Natural Arrecifes de La Cordillera, is about 3.6 km away.
Google MapsReef, 2–10 m — inside a regulated reserve — verify access. Lobster (by hand only), snapper.
Google MapsIsland reef 3–14 m — regulated (reserve); reef fish. Estimated. The marker is inside Reserva Natural Arrecifes de La Cordillera, a restricted area; check what may be taken there before spearing. Tides here rise and fall only a little.
Google MapsIsland reef 5–20 m — WARNING: La Cordillera, regulated; verify zones. Estimated. The marker is inside Reserva Natural Arrecifes de La Cordillera, a restricted area; check what may be taken there before spearing. The pin sits at 18.353 N / 65.546 W on the chart.
Google MapsIsland reef 3–18 m — WARNING: Nature Reserve, regulated take; hunt outside the boundaries. Estimated.
Google MapsIsland reef, 4–16 m — inside a regulated reserve — verify access. Hogfish, snapper. The entry lies within Reserva Natural Arrecifes de La Cordillera, an area with restrictions; know its limits before you shoot. Marker position: 18.365° N, 65.575° W.
Google MapsSurface FAD buoy — bluewater for pelagics (dorado/mahi, tuna, wahoo) by the buoy. Verified GPS (prfadsystem).
Google MapsWreck, 12–25 m — legal (outside reserves). Grouper, snapper. Open-water site: swell arrives unbroken from the ocean, so dive it only when the sea is flat. The pin sits at 18.417 N / 65.774 W on the chart. Survey soundings near the mark run from 0.7 m to 5 m.
Google MapsReef, 3–12 m — legal (outside reserves). Hogfish, lobster (by hand only), snapper. The pin sits at 18.390 N / 65.720 W on the chart. Survey soundings near the mark run from 0.2 m to 0.8 m.
Google MapsSOLO 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.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
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».
Rules change. Before heading out, check with the DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) and the federal NOAA rules (50 CFR 622).
Spearfishing in Fajardo starts with the boat, the boundary and the weather. The town is the northeast launch for La Cordillera reefs, Cayo Icacos and nearby cays, with deeper FAD water north of the coast. That makes it more of a charter or experienced-boat plan than a shore plan. The legal line comes first: DRNA licence for tourists and residents, apnea only, no scuba, no hunting in Laguna Grande, and no spearing inside closed reserve water. Northeast sea state matters here. Fajardo is sheltered, but the bad sector runs from north-northeast through east-southeast, so an easterly pulse can turn a pretty cay into a poor hunting day.
Fajardo spots are less about walking in and more about choosing the correct launch and boundary. The cays of La Cordillera are attractive but regulated. Mainland-side reefs around Luquillo, Rio Grande and Ceiba give outside-reserve options. FAD K is a verified bluewater point, not a reef backup plan.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayo Icacos (La Cordillera) | Island reef in a regulated reserve area | 3-18 m | Intermediate, boundary-dependent | Boat from Fajardo or Las Croabas area; estimated mark | A classic Fajardo name, but the important word is regulated. La Cordillera is a Nature Reserve, so hunt only outside the boundaries. Treat Icacos as a planning reference, not automatic permission to load a spear. |
| Cayo Diablo | Island reef | 5-20 m | Intermediate | Boat; verify La Cordillera zones | A deeper cay option in the same northeast chain. Use it only after checking the reserve layout and current. The depth range makes buddy spacing and boat pickup more important than it looks from the surface. |
| FAD K (surface buoy, Fajardo) | Surface FAD buoy | Bluewater around the buoy | Advanced bluewater | Boat north of Fajardo; verified GPS | The clearest Fajardo mark for pelagic hunting: mahi, tuna and wahoo by the buoy. This is open-water work with boat handling, float systems and conservative shot choice. It should not be treated like a shallow reef stop. |
| Playa Azul / La Selva reef (Luquillo) | Reef outside reserve areas | 3-12 m | Accessible to intermediate | Mainland-side reef planning area west of Fajardo | A shallower reef mark listed as legal outside reserves, with hogfish, lobster by hand only and snapper. It is useful when the Cordillera boundary or cay traffic makes a reserve-adjacent plan unattractive. |
| Las Picuas / Los Farallones (Rio Grande) | Wreck | 12-25 m | Intermediate to advanced | Boat to the Rio Grande side; outside reserve areas | The wreck entry adds a different structure type to the Fajardo area. Grouper and snapper are the planning targets, so grouper identification has to be strict: Nassau and goliath are closed year-round. |
| Ceiba / Los Machos reef | Reef | 3-15 m | Intermediate | Boat or local launch planning south of Fajardo; outside reserve areas | A south-of-town reef option known for lobster, grouper and snapper. Remember the lobster rule: it is not a spear target. Check boundaries and boat traffic before committing to the drift. |
Puerto Rico requires a DRNA recreational fishing licence for spearfishing, including tourists, through the DRNA Oficina de Permisos. The age threshold is 13. Spearfishing is breath-hold only; scuba is banned. The spear is used more than 30 m, or 100 ft, off the coast. Night spearfishing is only for lionfish. Nassau grouper and goliath grouper are closed year-round. Parrotfish and queen conch are protected, and lobster is not a spear target.
The Fajardo appeal is access. From the marina and Las Croabas side, boats run toward Icacos, Diablo, Palominos, Palominitos and Cayo Lobos. The catch is that many of those names sit inside or beside the La Cordillera reserve system, where take is regulated. A good Fajardo plan therefore starts on the chart before it starts in the water. If the boundary is unclear, pick a mainland-side legal reef or do a non-hunting dive.
There is no simple yes for every cay. La Cordillera is a Nature Reserve with regulated take, Cayo Lobos and Palominitos sit inside regulated reserve areas, and Laguna Grande is closed. That should make your decision conservative. Hunt outside the boundaries, do not use a crowded beach or bathing zone as an entry, and keep the gun unloaded until the boat is clearly in legal water.
Fajardo is marked sheltered, with Caribbean micro-tides and no upwelling coast, but it faces a different problem from the south coast: northeast and east sea state. The bad sector is 10 to 120 degrees, with the worst direction near 70 degrees. A pretty forecast in town can still leave the cays bumpy. Look at wind, swell direction, boat report and the lee of each cay before deciding between reef and bluewater.
FAD K is the verified coordinate in the Fajardo list. It is a surface FAD for mahi, tuna and wahoo. That gives Fajardo a different option from La Parguera or Culebra: a bluewater day built around a buoy instead of a reef line. It also raises the required standard. Float gear, boat driver, drift control and clean fish selection matter more than bottom time.
Yes, but only outside closed or restricted water, with a DRNA licence and on breath-hold. Fajardo is mainly a boat plan, not a shoreline spearing plan.
Plan around Cayo Icacos, Cayo Diablo, Palominos and Cayo Lobos only after reserve checks. For other styles, look at FAD K, La Selva, Las Picuas and Ceiba reefs.
La Cordillera has regulated take and some cays are inside regulated reserve areas. Laguna Grande is closed. Hunt outside the boundaries after checking them directly.
There is no fixed safety or visibility rating for these marks. Northeast and east sea state are the main problems, especially swell from 10 to 120 degrees.
Yes. The DRNA recreational fishing licence requirement includes tourists and is handled through the DRNA Oficina de Permisos. Confirm current requirements there.
No. Nassau and goliath grouper are closed year-round. Parrotfish and queen conch are protected, and lobster is not taken with a spear.
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