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.
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.
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0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
no dataupdated 03:37
Formentera — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind 14 km/h
wave 0.8 mwind 14 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~4 m
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Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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−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.
Go early here. The afternoon sea breeze comes in from exactly the south-southwest, the cape's bad sector, and builds a chop within two hours. The window runs May to October with warm water; in August be out before midday because of the boat traffic, and always between sunrise and sunset.
tide
In the Balearics the tide is measured in centimetres, about twenty-five at springs, so the phase decides nothing here. What actually moves water is the Freus channel between Ibiza and Formentera, where a real current runs, sharpened around the Barbaria point; days of wind raise the level more than the moon.
shelter
The cape faces south-southwest and is wide open across the whole 130-260 degree sector, with 210 the worst of it. It only turns good under a northerly tramuntana or mestral (0-40 degrees), which blows off the top of the cliff and flattens the surface, though it drops in hard gusts.
conditions
Formentera has the clearest water in the Balearics and on a flat day you see twenty to thirty metres; under Barbaria the bottom is stone, so it cleans up fast once the wind drops. What ruins it is southerly ground swell: above fifteen knots from the south there is nothing to do here.
hazard
Serious warning: the Freus d'Eivissa i Formentera marine reserve starts less than three hundred metres from here and spearfishing is banned inside it. The line is invisible from the water, so mark it on a GPS before you get in. Add cliffs with no exit, deep water straight away and boat traffic - the float is compulsory.
access
The shore under the lighthouse is cliff: there is no comfortable way down, and the gullies that look usable are loose rock and exposed. Almost everyone arrives by boat, from La Savina or along the south side. If you do go in from land, plan the exit first - with any southerly sea you will not come back where you climbed down.
Rocky ground below the Barbaria lighthouse; deep drop-offs, grouper and dentex, very exposed to the S-SW, advanced.
Dawn is the hour: the air slides off the La Mola plateau seawards and leaves the east face flat for a couple of hours. September and October are the best months, water still warm and far fewer people around. By mid-morning the excursion boats start dropping anchor in the coves.
tide
There is effectively no tide: twenty-five centimetres at springs and you never notice it on the rock. Wind rules instead. Several days of easterly push water against the wall of La Mola, lift the level a hand's width and set up a long surge along the stone that you feel far more than any lunar phase.
shelter
This stretch sits at the foot of La Mola on the east-facing side, so what hits it is the llevant (90 degrees) and the northeasterly gregal; with that sea the rock breaks and there is nowhere to tuck in. It comes into its own exactly when south and southwest shut down the Migjorn coast - La Mola screens it.
conditions
Over rock the water holds up well and on a still day twenty metres of visibility is normal, with the morning light coming straight in. What clouds it is not runoff - there is none here - but the surge working against the stone: over twelve knots of easterly the bottom fills with suspended sand and it is not worth it.
hazard
Watch the north: the Punta de sa Creu marine reserve lies a kilometre and a half away and spearfishing is banned inside it, so keep track of your distance if you work along the coast. The La Mola wall offers no intermediate exits. And the grouper minimum is forty-five centimetres, with the mandatory notch cut in the lower tail lobe.
access
You get in at the little harbour of Es Caló de Sant Agustí, between the old wooden boat sheds: flat rock along the edge of the cove and clean water two strokes out. From there you work the wall in either direction. With an easterly sea do not try to climb out on the rock - swim back into the cove.
Rocky ground at the foot of La Mola; rich rock bottom, exposed to the easterly (E).
It is a small, much-photographed beach: in summer it is packed from ten onwards, and with swimmers in the water you simply move somewhere else. So you come early. May, June and October are the comfortable months, with the cove nearly empty. Night is banned everywhere in Spain, here included.
tide
With twenty-five centimetres of range at springs the tide changes nothing here. What changes the day is south wind: it pushes water into a narrow cove and that water has to get back out, so a backwash sets up right on the entry ramp, which is exactly where it bothers you most.
shelter
The cove is wedged into the east end of Migjorn, right under the flank of La Mola, and that flank blocks east and northeast better than anywhere else on the south shore. What does get in is south and southwest, between roughly 170 and 230 degrees; with that the cove fills with foam.
conditions
The bottom is mixed sand and stone and shallow at first, which makes the visibility fickle: in calm it is glassy and you can pick out the edge of the posidonia meadow, but half a day of south wind turns it milky. After a blow, give it a day or two before coming back.
hazard
You are not inside any reserve, but working eastward along the coast brings you towards the Punta de sa Creu one, some five kilometres off, where spearfishing is banned - keep an eye on how far you drift. The posidonia meadow is protected: no anchoring, no tearing it up. In summer boats come into the cove, so a well-visible float.
access
You drop down a short but steep path of dirt and loose stone from the Migjorn road to the tongue of sand wedged between rocks. You walk in off the sand and work out towards the rocky points on either side. With a southerly sea the problem is not the swim, it is getting a foot back on the ramp.
Rocky cove at the east end of Migjorn, outside the Freus reserve; semi-sheltered below La Mola, easy entry, good for beginners.
Early summer mornings or the tail of the season. In July and August the beach fills and you have to get in well away from the bathing stretches, so you go at first light and are out before the crowd. October is the round month: calmer seas more often, water still mild and the sand almost empty midweek.
tide
The tide is a footnote here: twenty-five centimetres and that is that. What you really feel on a beach this long and open is the drift - with the south blowing, water pushed against the shore escapes parallel to it and carries you along without you noticing. Pick a landmark ashore and check it often.
shelter
Es Copinar sits in the middle of the long Migjorn arc with no headland to cover it: south and southwest, worst at 210 degrees, arrive head-on with all the open sea behind them. It only goes flat with a northerly tramuntana, which here blows off a very low island and barely raises a wave.
conditions
Here the sand of a long beach is the enemy: any southerly chop puts it into suspension and it takes two or three days to settle. Given those calm days in a row the place is spectacular and you can read the whole arc of rock patches over the pale bottom. The patches hold clarity better than open sand.
hazard
The Freus reserve lies about four kilometres to the west and spearfishing is banned inside it - it is not on top of you, but if you work along the coast that way, know where the line is. The rest is coexistence: swimmers, anchored boats, compulsory float. Useful sizes here: corball thirty, dèntol thirty-five, cap-roig thirty.
access
Access is the easiest on the island: park behind the beach, cross the sand, walk in. The catch is distance - the rock patches sit well off the shore and you have a decent swim with the float. You can come out anywhere along the sand, except with a southerly sea, when the shorebreak dumps hard on the sand step.
Rock-and-sand stretch on the south coast, outside the Freus reserve; mixed bottom, sea bream and gilthead, exposed to the S.
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.
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≈
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».
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011). Baleares: 45 cm en aguas interiores, 50 cm en reservas marinas; marcado obligatorio (corte en el lóbulo inferior de la aleta caudal, también en submarina) — Decret 34/2014, art. 12.
red scorpionfish
Scorpaena scrofa · Mediterranean · RD 560/1995 Anexo II
Baleares: cap-roig 30 cm + marcado obligatorio (Decret 34/2014; subida a 30 por Orden 17/2025).
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Mediterranean · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos.
Law
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
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.
Local guide · Formentera
Spearfishing in Formentera: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Formentera is a shore-entry spearfishing area where exposure decides the day. Barbaria and Migjorn face south and southwest; Es Caló and La Mola suffer when easterly Llevant arrives. The legal frame is Balearic: licence from the Govern, freediving only, no scuba, and marine reserves are generally closed to spearfishing except named Mallorcan exceptions. Treat Freus d'Eivissa-Formentera as a no-go reserve unless current local rules say otherwise.
TL;DR
Best beginner angle: Es Caló des Mort when the south coast is small and clear.
Main weather risk: south to southwest swell, plus easterly Llevant around La Mola.
Legal split: Balearic licence, Mediterranean species sizes, and strict reserve checks.
Best legal spearfishing spots near Formentera
These shore-entry zones should only be used with settled sea, a visible buoy and confirmed local limits.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Es Caló des Mort
Rocky cove at the east end of Migjorn, outside the Freus reserve
Shore rock in shallow water
Careful beginner
Easy shore entry
Semi-sheltered rocky cove, easy entry, outside the Freus reserve boundary. Small south swell. Check reserve limits.
Platja de Migjorn (Es Copinar)
Rock-and-sand stretch on the south coast, outside the Freus reserve
Mixed shallow bottom
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Mixed rock and sand with sargo and gilthead. Avoid strong south exposure. Balearic licence required.
Es Caló / La Mola
Rocky ground at the foot of La Mola
Shore rock in shallow water
Intermediate
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Rocky bottom below La Mola. Poor in Llevant. Respect local protected zones.
Cap de Barbaria
Rocky ground below the Barbaria lighthouse
Deep rocky ledges
Advanced
Shore entry with a clear exit route
Deep ledges with grouper and dentex. Advanced, very exposed to S-SW. Observe Mediterranean sizes and Balearic marking rules.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
✓Balearic Islands: the spearfishing licence is issued by the Govern (CAIB). Key rule: spearfishing is BANNED in the marine reserves, EXCEPT in Badia de Palma, Migjorn de Mallorca and Llevant de Mallorca (there, with a licence).
✓Balearics: grouper/anfós — 45 cm in interior waters, 50 cm in marine reserves; mandatory marking (a cut in the lower caudal-fin lobe, spearfishing included) — Decreto 34/2014, art. 12 + Annex 3. The «50 cm in reserves» figure comes from the official DG de Pesca table (Aug 2025).
✓Bans: Toro/Malgrats (Ponent), Freus d'Eivissa-Formentera, northern Menorca, etc.; the state RMIP Llevant de Mallorca–Cala Rajada also bans it (see zones).
✓Balearics: in the marine reserves of the interior waters spearfishing is NOT allowed. Where the decree makes an exception it takes an individual authorisation from the Direcció General, and only on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and two weekdays a week set by resolution (Decret 41/2015, art. 6). Which reserves are excepted — see the no-take zones on the map and each reserve's own decree.
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).
Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.
Conditions and season essentials
Use the forecast as a filter, not a guarantee. The useful coast has a bad sector from southeast through west-southwest, with southwest as the worst direction. Cap de Barbaria has deeper rocky ledges and is advanced when exposed. Es Caló / La Mola has rich rock but takes easterly sea. Migjorn offers mixed rock and sand for sargo and gilthead, while Es Caló des Mort is the easier semi-sheltered option outside the Freus reserve boundary. Check the Es Caló de Sant Agustí and Estany des Peix webcams before committing.
FAQ
Do you need a licence to spearfish in Formentera?
Yes. It is issued under the Balearic system and spearfishing is freediving only.
Is spearfishing allowed in Freus d'Eivissa-Formentera?
Balearic reserve rules list Freus d'Eivissa-Formentera among reserve bans, so do not treat it as open water.
What is the local caladero?
Formentera uses the Mediterranean size table.
What is the minimum size for gilthead bream?
Dorada, or gilthead seabream, is listed at 20 cm in the Mediterranean.
Spain
