Spearfishing in Greece
Greece is one of the best places on earth to spearfish — and that's not marketing. Sixteen thousand kilometres of coast, thousands of islands and islets, clear blue water that opens to 20–30 m in the open sea, and, crucially for the amateur: no paid licence (but check the new, free ΟΣΠΑ registration on gov.gr). From the Saronic to the Dodecanese and from the Ionian to the Libyan Sea, each sea has its own character — grouper and dentex on the deep Cretan reefs, amberjack in the Cycladic straits, sea bass and gilthead in the green northern gulfs.
The key is always the same: read the weather, and above all the wind. This guide explains the rules, shows where to dive in each region, and links to a daily go / marginal / no-go forecast for every city.
Open the flagship — Chania →The law in brief
Everything rests on Presidential Decree 373/1985, still in force today. The essentials:
- Licence: no paid one needed. The amateur licence was abolished in 2014 (Law 4256/2014). But Greece is introducing a mandatory FREE registration of recreational fishers (the ΟΣΠΑ registry, which covers spearfishing), free until 31 Dec 2026 — the obligation isn't in force yet, but check gov.gr before you go.
- Age: 16+. Daytime only — sunrise to sunset; night spearfishing and underwater lights are banned.
- Breath-hold only. Any air supply / scuba is banned — you may not even carry it on the boat. Load the gun only in the water.
- ALL OF MAY IS CLOSED. Spearfishing is banned the entire month of May, every year (current law, not a draft). It's the most-ignored rule of all.
- Distances: at least 200 m from swimmers, harbour works, navigation marks, vessels and craft (including those at anchor) and marked nets; banned in shipping channels and harbour entrances.
- Buoy mandatory: a yellow float + yellow flag with a red diagonal and the letters «Υ.Δ.», visible from ≥300 m; stay within ≤50 m of it.
- Limit: 5 kg/day (fish & cephalopods); a single fish that alone exceeds the limit is exempt. Grouper: one per day AND a 45 cm minimum — it is not banned. Selling your catch is forbidden.
- A 150 g floor on any fish — nothing under 150 g may be kept. Never take: fan mussel (Pinna nobilis), corals, sponges.
- Myth — pneumatic guns: pneumatic (air) spearguns ARE allowed. The law bans only a spear whose power comes from an explosive charge / detonation (powerheads). Many English-language guides get this wrong.
Minimum sizes
Keep nothing under 150 g, whatever the species. The key per-species minimums (EU 1967/2006 Annex III + the Coast Guard table):
| Species | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Dusky/white grouper (Epinephelus) | 45 cm (+ 1/day) |
| White seabream (sargós) | 23 cm |
| Sea bass (lavráki) | 25 cm |
| Gilthead bream (tsipoúra) | 20 cm |
| Striped seabream (mourmoúra) | 20 cm |
| Red porgy (fagrí) | 18 cm |
| Red mullet (barboúni) | 11 cm |
| Octopus (chtapódi) | 750 g |
| Dentex · amberjack · barracuda · parrotfish | no EU size — the 150 g floor applies |
Antiquities underwater
Greece has something almost no other country has: antiquities all over the seabed. The law (L. 3028/2002) is absolute — do not touch, move or raise an amphora, an anchor or anything ancient. Independent dives and spearfishing are banned in the declared underwater archaeological zones; a few visited archaeological parks allow only guided dives with a certified guide — which does not concern hunting.
These zones are declared by government gazette (ΦΕΚ) and mapped on the state geoportal, the ENALIA layer (https://thalchor-2.ypen.gov.gr/layers/geonode:ENALIA). The Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities is the responsible body. Penalties are serious — a criminal offence carrying heavy fines and imprisonment. If you see an antiquity: look, don't touch, report it.
The meltemi guide
If you learn one thing about the Greek summer, make it this. The meltemi is a dry northerly that blows May–September, peaking 15 July – 15 August, often force 5–7, sometimes 8. Its field is bow-shaped: NE near Limnos → N over the Cyclades → curving to NW in the Dodecanese. It has a daily rhythm too: usually calm before 09:00, building through the afternoon and easing after sunset — which is why dawn is your window on exposed coasts.
The craft is finding the lee: when the north wind blows, hunt the south- and west-facing sides of the islands.
- Cyclades: the N/NE coasts blow out, the south works (Naxos S/SW, Milos S/Kleftiko, Sifnos S/SE).
- Crete: the north shuts down — go south (the Libyan Sea: Ierapetra, Paleochora, Gavdos). There's always a lee somewhere.
- Dodecanese: the rule is "dive the east coast" (Rhodes, Kos).
- Ionian & sheltered gulfs: the meltemi doesn't reach here — the calmest summer in Greece.
Species
The "Greek" trophies are the dusky and white grouper (reefs and caves, 45 cm, one a day), the dentex (wary, in the blue over reef edges), the amberjack (on the current-swept points of the straits), and, shallower, the white seabream, gilthead, sea bass, striped seabream and octopus. In the south and the Dodecanese add the parrotfish (skáros) — an eastern-Mediterranean specialty. Beware, too, the katabatic gusts that tall islands throw off their lee edge (Kea, Evia/Cavo D'Oro, Tinos, Andros, Amorgos, Kos): a lee beside a steep island is not automatically calm.
The invasive trio — know them well:
- Lionfish (Pterois miles): take it (within the general hunting rules), you're helping the sea. The flesh is delicious and safe; the venom is only in the 18 external spines and breaks down with heat. A sting: hot water 43–46 °C for 20–90 minutes.
- Pufferfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus): DO NOT EAT — DEADLY. It carries tetrodotoxin, no antidote. Sale is banned in the EU. Kill it (it's invasive), but never eat it, and mind the powerful beak that bites.
- Rabbitfish (Siganus): edible, but it has venomous spines — same hot-water first aid.
Seasons & water
Temperature bottoms out in Feb–March (north ~13°, south ~16–17°) and peaks in August (~25–26°). The south and the Dodecanese run 2–3° warmer all year — which is why Crete and the Dodecanese have the longest season. In summer a sharp thermocline sits around 25–35 m: below it the water cools fast, so carry a hood for deep aspetto. Best months: Cyclades/Dodecanese June & Sep–Oct; Crete Sep–Nov; Ionian Jun–Oct. May is closed — start from 1 June.
Wetsuit guide: 3 mm for ≥18–20° · 5 mm + hood ~14–18° · 7 mm <14°. N Aegean: winter 7 mm (or 5 + hood), summer 3 mm. S Aegean/Cyclades & Ionian: winter 5 mm + hood, summer 3 mm. S Crete/Libyan: winter 5 mm, summer 3 / 1.5 mm.
Dangerous currents — respect them
A few places demand real respect:
- Euripus Strait (Chalkida): the current reverses about 4×/day, up to ~6.5 knots, with roughly 8 minutes of slack and whirlpools at the turn — dive the slack.
- Cavo D'Oro / Kafireas (SE Evia–Andros): a funnel that accelerates the meltemi, one of the windiest passages, with strong current.
- The Kythira straits: strong current and wind at the gateway between the Ionian, Aegean and Cretan seas, off the SE Peloponnese.
- Cape Tainaron, Cape Akritas, the Mycale strait (Samos): strong currents at the capes where gulfs and seas meet.
Where to dive, by region
Attica · Saronic
The Saronic Gulf and the Athens Riviera — from Glyfada to Cape Sounio, with Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses a short hop away. Inner-gulf water is moderate and clears toward Sounio and the islands; the country's biggest spearing community launches from here. Mind the heavy boat traffic near the city.
- Athens Riviera — The heart of Greek spearfishing: the biggest community but the worst water and worst crowding.
- Cape Sounio — The SE tip of Attica and the best water within a day of Athens: exposed rock reefs and drop-offs clearing to 15–20 m, real grouper and dentex ground.
- Lavrio — A working port on Attica's SE face and the launch point for Makronisos and the Patroklos wreck grounds, the richest reef and wreck cluster in the region, viz 15–20 m+.
- Aegina — The easy Saronic day-trip island: mixed rock/sand 3–20 m, viz 10–15 m, forgiving grounds good for learning.
- Poros — A narrow channel town and Argo-Saronic reefs: calm, sheltered and ideal for learning, but the water is only fair (viz 8–15 m) and the good sites are archaeology-locked.
- Hydra — A steep rocky coast with quick deep drop-offs, the best grouper-on-the-edge terrain in the inner Saronic, and water clearer than Aegina or Poros (12–18 m).
- Spetses — An Argolic-border island: rock and posidonia, viz 12–18 m, the clearest water of the four Saronic islands.
Peloponnese
A peninsula of many seas: sheltered, calm gulfs (Kalamata, Nafplio) and exposed, deep capes with current (Monemvasia, Tainaron, Akritas). Pylos on the Ionian side stays almost meltemi-free; the Laconian side is blue but demanding.
- Nafplio — Sheltered, shallow, west-facing head of the Argolic Gulf: softer visibility, sand, seagrass and rocky islets.
- Porto Heli — Protected bays with clearer water than the inner Argolic (Saronic influence): rock, posidonia and islets, plus the Spetses and Ermioni reefs next door.
- Monemvasia — Exposed SE Laconian castle-rock coast, clear blue water and quick rocky drops: dentex, grouper, amberjack and sea bream.
- Gytheio — The head of the Laconian Gulf and the wild rocky Mani: dramatic limestone, caves and quick drops.
- Kalamata — A deep, sheltered, west-facing Messenian gulf and a freediving mecca: deep water close inshore, stable and clear, low swell.
- Pylos — SW Ionian: clear, calm and meltemi-free, with Navarino Bay (a huge sheltered lagoon-bay) plus open reefs and islets.
- Kythira — A crossroads island south of the Peloponnese: deep clear water, walls, caves, strong straits current and big pelagics.
Crete
Greece's spearfishing jewel: the warmest, clearest water and the longest season. The north wind shuts the north coast, but the south (the Libyan Sea: Ierapetra, Paleochora, Gavdos) is the escape hatch — there's always somewhere to dive. Grouper, white grouper, dentex, amberjack, parrotfish and the invasives.
- Chania — NW Crete's clearest north-coast water — limestone reefs, drop-offs and caves off the Akrotiri and Rodopos peninsulas, viz often past 30 m.
- Rethymno — Rethymno straddles two seas: the north coast (mixed reef/sand, Bali–Panormo) takes the meltemi, but a short drive south reaches the Libyan coast (Plakias–Damnoni–Agios Pavlos) — the densest cluster of walls and caves on the island and a full N-wind escape.
- Heraklion — The biggest city with the strongest local scene; best grounds sit west at Agia Pelagia (tucked coves, capes, a deep offshore blue) and east at Gouves (reefs, caves).
- Agios Nikolaos — On the Gulf of Mirabello — a large, semi-sheltered NE basin of deep clear water (viz often >30 m), rocky slopes, caverns and quick drop-offs.
- Sitia — Wild, exposed eastern corner — big blue water, pelagics and Crete's strongest parrotfish + invasive layer.
- Ierapetra — The southernmost city in Europe and the meltemi escape for east Crete — when the north blows out, the Libyan lee here fishes (grouper, white grouper, amberjack, a lionfish hotspot).
- Paleochora — The classic SW meltemi escape — clear, rugged Libyan reef off the N-wind axis; grouper, dentex.
- Gavdos — Pristine, deep, remote triangle island 26 nm S of Chora Sfakion — boat/charter only (day and two-day spearfishing expeditions from Paleochora/Sfakia).
Cyclades
The heart of the meltemi and the bluest water — 20–30 m+ visibility in an oligotrophic sea. Dive the south/SW lee sides; the north coasts blow out. Grouper, dentex and amberjack in the straits; watch the katabatic gusts off the tall islands and the Gyaros zone.
- Syros — Cyclades capital and hub, mixed rock+sand, good viz but E/N exposed.
- Andros — The northernmost Cyclade, 176 km of coast, with a notorious NW katabatic meltemi that hammers Gavrio/NW.
- Tinos — Wind-hammered granite coast; superb clear water in the lee.
- Naxos — The largest Cyclade with the most varied grounds (sand+rock+seagrass).
- Paros — A big spearing scene; reefs, islets and the Antiparos channel (current).
- Milos — Volcanic SW Cyclade with dramatic rock/caves/arches.
- Santorini — Volcanic caldera: very deep close in, limited shallow reef — a niche spearo island (pelagics/amberjack off the outer rocks, grouper on the few reefs).
- Amorgos — ⚠️ PD 73/2025 (Gazette 148/A, in force ~Nov 2025): a WHOLE-ISLAND ban on fishing — including spearfishing — 1 Apr–31 May out to 1.
- Kea — The closest Cyclade to Attica (day-trip from Lavrio); katabatic meltemi and a wall of famous deep wrecks.
Dodecanese
The warm, "Levantine" southeast. With the meltemi from the NW, the golden rule is "dive the east coast." This is also the invasive-species frontier (lionfish, pufferfish, rabbitfish). Kalymnos — the historic sponge-diving capital — is the soul of Greek freediving.
- Rhodes — The biggest island, the whole SE Aegean rulebook in one place.
- Kos — Long low island, sand+seagrass+rock, katabatic gusts off the hills.
- Kalymnos — The historic sponge-diving island and Greece's freediving mecca — deep, clear, low-current water over a rocky seabed of walls, canyons, caverns, reefs and wrecks.
- Karpathos — One of the windiest places in Greece — the Karpathos/Kasos strait funnels the northerly ferociously; the N (Diafani, Saria islet) is wild pelagic water but often unfishable.
- Leros — A deeply indented "octopus" island — a bay for every wind, so there's always a lee; easy grounds (sargo, dentex, octopus).
- Patmos — A volcanic 60 km coastline of rocky islets, channels and reefs, ringed by a refuge archipelago (Arki/Marathi/Petrokaravo).
- Symi — Small, steep, deep and stunningly clear (50–60 m viz), tucked hard against the Turkish coast so it's naturally sheltered from the open Aegean.
- Astypalaia — A remote "butterfly" island straddling Cyclades↔Dodecanese — very windy and exposed, but pristine, "the bank of the Gods" for fish abundance.
- Kastellorizo — The easternmost point of Greece, 2 km off Turkey — Levantine-warm, gin-clear 30 m+ water and the invasive frontier (lionfish/rabbitfish/pufferfish everywhere).
NE Aegean
Big islands with two faces: sheltered gulfs (Gera, Kalloni on Lesbos) and open, deep east coasts. Clear, green-blue water; grouper and amberjack on the steep drops, with invasives moving up from the SE. The Mycale strait (Samos) needs care for the current.
- Lesbos (Mytilene) — Greece's 3rd island: two near-landlocked gulfs — Gera (SE) and Kalloni (S) — stay fishable in almost any wind (soft bottom, tsipoura/lavraki/octopus, lower viz), while the open rock coasts run clearer with grouper, dentex and sargos.
- Chios — Rocky and clear (viz to 40 m), with volcanic reefs, caves and ancient wrecks — grouper, dentex, sargos, octopus.
- Samos — Steep, deep, green-blue — grouper, amberjack, dentex, and the leading edge of SE invasives.
- Ikaria — Wild, steep, deep, few harbours — one of the windiest islands in Greece.
- Limnos — Low, volcanic-and-sandy island at the very source of the meltemi (N/NE) — the most exposed of the five.
Sporades · Evia
The green, forested Sporades, Evia and Pelion. Note: Alonissos is a National Marine Park — spearfishing is banned inside the park, hunt only outside the boundary. At Chalkida the Euripus reverses its current, and the Kafireas/Cavo D'Oro off south Evia is dangerous.
- Skiathos — The greenest, most sheltered Sporade: deep pine-fringed south bays (Koukounaries/Vromolimnos/Tzaneria) give a reliable lee.
- Skopelos — Steep forested coast, clearer and quieter than Skiathos — grouper on the deep rock.
- Chalkida — On the Euripus strait; gulf water — greener, plankton-rich, viz 5–15 m — a seabream/seabass venue, NOT blue water.
- Karystos — SE tip of Evia beside Kafireas (Cavo D'Oro) — the meltemi acceleration funnel: N/NE gales, strong wind-driven current, big swell.
- Kymi — 'The balcony of the Aegean' — the E coast faces the open Aegean, sharp rock plunging fast, clear blue.
- Volos (Pelion) — Two-in-one: the enclosed Pagasitikos gulf = sheltered, greener, low viz, meltemi L — tsipoura, lavraki, octopus; while the outer Pelion coast (Damouchari/Mylopotamos/Agios Ioannis) opens to clear Aegean but is exposed to the meltemi + swell.
Ionian
The west, meltemi-free — the calmest, green-blue summer in Greece. Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos: sea bass, gilthead, leerfish, octopus, grouper on the western cliffs. Note: inside the Marine Park of the southern bay of Zakynthos (Laganas) spearfishing is banned; outside the park boundary, only after checking the zone map and the local rules.
- Corfu — Northernmost Ionian: greener, sheltered channel water on the NE (Nissaki, Agni) and dramatic deep walls on the NW (Paleokastritsa).
- Paxos — Tiny, premium-clear and cave-riddled. The whole west coast is sheer cliffs and sea-caves plunging deep, spectacular but open to the Ionian and…
- Lefkada — Split personality: the west coast (Cape Doukato, Egremni, Porto Katsiki) is towering cliffs open to W/SW Ionian swell, while the SE side and the Meganisi channel (Sparti, Scorpidi) are very sheltered.
- Ithaca — Small and steep, in the very sheltered channel between Kefalonia and the mainland: the E/NE coast (Filiatro, Sarakiniko, Kioni) is glass-calm channel water, shore-friendly; the W/SW coast is exposed to open-Ionian swell.
- Kefalonia — The big one: the deepest, clearest Ionian water, steep reefs dropping fast to blue and the strongest grounds (grouper, dentex, amberjack on the points).
- Zakynthos — The clearest Ionian island, with the most dramatic west-coast cliffs, caves and sea-stacks (Navagio, Porto Roxa, Blue Caves): grouper, dentex, amberjack.
Halkidiki
The three "fingers" of Halkidiki. Sithonia gives the clearest water: its west side (Toroneos gulf) is the meltemi lee, with Porto Koufo a classic haunt for big fish. Note: the Mt Athos peninsula is a restricted/monastic zone — stay outside it.
- Kassandra — Halkidiki's 1st finger — the gentlest and most developed; sand + rock, both coasts give a lee.
- Sithonia — The most rugged, clearest, richest finger — reefs, islets, walls, wrecks.
- Ouranoupoli — NW base of the Athos peninsula; clear NE Singitic/Ierissos grounds.
Thrace · Kavala
The far north, in the Thracian Sea: Kavala, Thasos, Samothraki, Alexandroupoli. Thasos is the best all-round island; Samothraki is steep, deep and exposed; Alexandroupoli is shallow and murky from the Evros river. A short, warm summer season.
- Kavala — Big N-mainland port facing Thasos (~12 km); mixed reef/sand.
- Thasos — Round, forested, the clearest water in the region — rocky N/E, sandy S.
- Samothraki — Dramatic volcanic island (Mt Saos 1611 m), very deep close in, cliffs/reefs/caves, big blue water with trophy grouper & amberjack — but famously wind-hammered ('the winds of Samothrace') and the hardest access in the region.
- Alexandroupoli — Edge-of-country hub with Evros river/delta influence → shallow, sandy, low viz (5–10 m).
Frequently asked questions
Rules current as of 2026 and can vary locally — the local port authority (Λιμεναρχείο), the marine and diving parks, the declared archaeological zones and the fishery-protection areas set their own restrictions. National frame: no paid licence, but a free ΟΣΠΑ registration is being introduced (check gov.gr), 16+, daytime only, spearfishing closed the whole of May; stay ≥200 m from swimmers, ports, vessels and nets. Always check the local rules and the closed zones before you dive.
Do I need a licence to spearfish in Greece?
No paid one — there's no paid amateur licence; it was abolished in 2014 (Law 4256/2014). But Greece is introducing a mandatory FREE registration in the recreational-fishers registry (ΟΣΠΑ), which covers spearfishing and is free until 31 Dec 2026; the obligation isn't in force yet, so check gov.gr before you go. Minimum age is 16, and selling your catch is forbidden.
Official source ↗When's the best season — and is May really closed?
Yes, it's true: all of May is closed, every year (PD 373/85 §3.1.α). Best months: Crete & the Dodecanese Sep–Nov (warm, clear), the Cyclades June & Sep–Oct, the Ionian Jun–Oct. Avoid the meltemi peak (mid-July to mid-August) except at dawn or in the lee.
Can I take a grouper?
Yes — but only one grouper (Epinephelus) per day, minimum 45 cm (PD 373/85 §2.2.β). It is not banned in Greece; the "grouper ban" you may read about applies to other countries/zones, not here.
Can I dive at night?
No. It's allowed only from sunrise to sunset; night spearfishing and underwater lights are banned (PD 373/85 §3.1.β & §3.2.ζ).
Is scuba allowed? And pneumatic spearguns?
Scuba / any air supply: no — banned, you can't even carry it on the boat. Breath-hold only. By contrast, pneumatic (air) spearguns are allowed; only explosive spears/powerheads are banned. The "pneumatics are banned" line is a myth from English-language guides.
Is a buoy mandatory?
Yes. A yellow float + yellow flag with a red diagonal and the letters «Υ.Δ.», visible from at least 300 m; stay within 50 m of it. And keep ≥200 m from swimmers, harbours, vessels (including those at anchor) and nets.
Can I eat the invasive fish I'll meet?
It depends. Lionfish: yes, delicious and safe — just mind the 18 venomous spines (hot water 43–46 °C). Rabbitfish: yes, edible, but it has venomous spines. Pufferfish (lagocephalus): NEVER — deadly tetrodotoxin, sale banned; kill it but don't eat it, and mind the bite.