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 20:56
Hondarribia — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 2.9 m (occasionally up to ~5.8 m)
wave 2.9 mwind 11 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
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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.
At low water the ledges at the foot of the cliff appear and you have somewhere to climb out; at spring high water, with a 4.2-4.5 m range, the wall drops straight into the sea and along many stretches there is nowhere to get up. Read the table before deciding where and when you enter.
shelter
The whole Jaizkibel wall faces north and takes the 300-40° sector with nothing in front of it; at 320° it breaks against the cliff and there is no exit left. Only the small coves at its foot give any shade, and only with light land wind from the south or southwest.
conditions
The bottom is sandstone and boulders with no sand to lift, so with a flat sea you see a long way, which is exactly why it has the reputation it has among locals. With any groundswell the surge runs along the wall, it fills with foam and stops being a pleasant place.
hazard
This is genuinely isolated coast: no reliable phone signal, no people, no rescue nearby, and along several stretches there is simply no exit if you tire. The galerna catches you against the wall and does not forgive. Go with a partner, with a clearly visible buoy and never more than 25 m from it.
access
You come down from the Jaizkibel ridge road on hunters' paths, steep and full of loose stone; the descent is long and the climb back is worse. Enter through one of the coves at the foot and memorise the exact exit point; with any groundswell, do not even try.
Jaizkibel coast to the west; legendary rocky bottom, very exposed, advanced.
Half the bay dries at low water and there is only usable water near high tide; with 4.2-4.5 m springs the difference from one hour to the next is brutal. In the Bidasoa channel the current genuinely pulls on the ebb, and combined with the poor visibility that is a truly bad mix.
shelter
It is the only place around here you can be in when there is a gale outside: the inner bay is closed off from the 300-40° sector by Cabo Higer and by the French coast opposite. The price is that in here there are almost never real conditions, just still water.
conditions
Sandy bottom and estuary water: visibility is poor almost always, and after rain it is flat out nil. It can clear a little on the high tide of a dry summer, but it stays a fallback plan rather than somewhere you go on purpose.
hazard
The waters of the Hondarribia fishing harbour and marina are closed to spearfishing, and boats come and go constantly. The French border runs down the middle of the bay and a different set of rules applies on the far side. Poor visibility plus propellers is the worst mix there is.
access
You get in from the Hondarribia promenade or off the beach, with no difficulty at all, and you can come out wherever you like. Stay well clear of the marina entrance and the channel, mark yourself properly with the buoy and, if the day is even halfway decent, swap it for Cabo Higer.
Inner part of the bay; well sheltered, sandy bottom, of little interest in a big sea.
With 4.2-4.5 m springs and extremes near 5 m, the estuary shifts an enormous volume and the current bites right on the cape tip when it ebbs. Get in on the flood or at high slack; here the ebb takes you seaward before you have even noticed.
shelter
The cape closes the Bidasoa mouth on the west and its inner face, the one looking toward Hondarribia, is the lee when the northwest bites. The north tip, under the lighthouse, eats the whole 300-40° sector and at 320° there is no way to get in or out.
conditions
When the Bidasoa runs dirty the water in the mouth turns brown and you see nothing useful; after a dry spell and on a flooding tide, clean water pushes up outside the cape and the ledges work well. With groundswell, particles off the reef blanket everything anyway.
hazard
The French border runs through the mouth: do not cross to the other side with your gun, since a different law and a different permit apply there. There is very heavy traffic to the Hondarribia fishing and marina harbours, with a compulsory 300 m from professionals at work, and the bar current is strong.
access
You drive up the Higer lighthouse road, park at the top and walk down to the ledges on a short path. You enter on whichever side is sheltered that day and exit on the same one; never on the tip when there is sea running. Be back before the tide starts to ebb.
Cape at the mouth of the Bidasoa; rocky ground with drop-offs, sea bass and sea bream, exposed to the NW.
At low water there is a comfortable ledge to kit up on and get in almost without a jump; at spring high water, with a range up to 4.5 m, that ledge is covered and everything turns into vertical wall. Plan your return around the tide you will have, not the one you left behind.
shelter
The cove walls cut the crosswind from east and west and leave a workable corner even with some breeze, but the mouth faces north and the 300-40° sector walks straight in. With light south or southwest the water stands still right up to the edge of the rock.
conditions
Rock and weed, with no sandy bottom to cloud things, so in calm weather it reads well the moment you look down from above; after a northwest episode it stays murky barely a day. The best of it is on the boulders outside the cove, where the weed sits on clean stone.
hazard
The rock in the cove is always wet and slippery, and a twisted ankle here is a serious problem because the path back is hard and you are on your own. Boats out of Pasaia and Hondarribia pass in front and you must leave them 300 m while they are working. Gun unloaded out of the water, always.
access
A path drops from the Jaizkibel road down to the cove, with easy but exposed scrambling sections. Kit up on the lower ledge, get in from there and exit at exactly the same place: the neighbouring coves do not always have a workable exit for the sea that is running.
Rocky coves below Jaizkibel; tricky entry off the rocks, semi-exposed.
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».
connecting to the stream…
Hondarribia — Playa de Hondarribia (CamaraMar / Gipuzkoa)Live cam (Hondarribia beach) — live stream.camera: official ↗
✓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 · Hondarribia
Spearfishing in Hondarribia: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-20 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in Hondarribia is shore-entry rock hunting on an exposed Atlantic corner, where the Bidasoa runs out to sea and Spain meets France. The coast faces north-northwest, so it stirs up and closes out fast when the sea comes from northwest to northeast, with the northwest the worst axis. Cabo Higer at the river mouth and the Jaizkibel cliffs to the west are the real ground, both exposed and neither a training spot; the Asaburua coves below Jaizkibel are semi-sheltered with a tricky entry, and the inner Txingudi bay is the calm fallback. You need the Basque regional licence, freediving only, daylight only, with a signalling buoy within 25 m.
TL;DR
Hondarribia sits where the Bidasoa meets the sea, right on the French border, and the coast opens to the north-northwest, so the bad sea runs from northwest through north to northeast, worst on the northwest.
Cabo Higer is the exposed cape at the river mouth; the Jaizkibel cliffs to the west are legendary but advanced, very exposed rock; the Asaburua coves below Jaizkibel have an awkward entry off the rocks.
Bahia de Txingudi is the sheltered sandy fallback, but there is little to hunt there once the coast has any real sea, and a calm bay is no proof the Jaizkibel points are diveable.
You are in the Basque Country: the recreational licence is issued by the regional government, national rules are freediving only, daylight only, buoy within 25 m, and the Cantabrian-Northwest size table applies, with sea bass at 42 cm.
Best spearfishing spots in Hondarribia
The three outer entries are rock on an exposed north-facing coast, so read the sea from land before you commit. Cabo Higer is the cape at the Bidasoa mouth, Jaizkibel to the west is legendary but advanced ground, the Asaburua coves sit under the cliffs with an awkward entry, and Txingudi is the sheltered sandy bay you fall back on when the outside is closed out.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Cabo Higer
Rocky cape at the Bidasoa mouth
Shore rock with drop-offs off the cape
Intermediate, exposed
Shore entry off the cape rocks by the river mouth
Sea bass and sea bream hold over the drop-offs. It faces the northwest, so it is one of the first spots to churn up and close out when that sea is running, and it sits right on the border with Hendaye across the Bidasoa.
✓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.
✓Basque Country: the spearfishing licence is issued by the Basque Government — Gobierno Vasco (Eusko Jaurlaritza): Decreto 198/2000, platform, spearfishing valid 1 year.
✓Basque Country: spearfishing needs a SEPARATE licence (Decreto 198/2000, art. 4); it takes being 16, an official sports medical certificate of fitness for this very activity, and accident + civil-liability insurance (art. 7.3). The cap is 5 kg (art. 12.1). Barred within 250 m of properly delimited bathing or watersport areas (art. 14.3); orto to ocaso only (art. 16). Ports, docks, habitual anchorages, navigation channels and vessel-traffic zones are closed; and a biotope, a special-protection zone or an artificial reef closes spearfishing only when ITS OWN norm says so (art. 18).
⛔ 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.
Acantilados de Jaizkibel
Cliff-and-rock coast west of town
Rocky bottom off the cliffs, open ground
Advanced
Demanding access down the Jaizkibel cliffs
Legendary rocky ground along the Jaizkibel coast, and very exposed. Not a place to learn: the climb down the cliffs is as much of the hazard as the sea, so keep it for advanced divers on a settled day.
Calas de Jaizkibel (Asaburua)
Rocky coves below Jaizkibel
Rock in and off the coves
Intermediate, tricky entry
Awkward entry off the rocks into the coves
The coves under Jaizkibel are only semi-exposed, which makes them the softer option on that stretch, but the entry off the rocks is fiddly. Pick a settled sea and keep a clear exit line.
Bahia de Txingudi
Sheltered inner bay of the estuary
Sheltered sandy bottom
Easy, sheltered fallback
Easy, from the calm inner bay
Well sheltered over sand, the calm option when the open coast is closed out. There is little of interest here once there is real sea, so treat it as a bad-weather fallback rather than a target.
When can you spearfish in Hondarribia?
Watch the direction before the height. The coast opens to the north-northwest, and the bad sector runs roughly from northwest through north to northeast, with the northwest the worst axis, so a swell in that arc turns the water over and makes the rock entries ugly. On the northern Spanish coast the workable stretch is broadly late spring through autumn, but the calm between swells and fronts matters more than the month. The Jaizkibel cliffs want a genuinely settled sea, Cabo Higer is quick to close in a northwest, and Txingudi is where you go when the outside is off. Clarity swings with the sea state and with river outflow: after heavy rain the Bidasoa plume browns the water around the cape and the inner bay, so the clearest water tends to follow a settled spell. This is an Atlantic tidal coast, so the state of the tide changes how the rock entries work.
What licence and rules apply on the Basque coast?
The recreational licence in Spain is issued by the autonomous community, and Hondarribia is in the Basque Country, so it is the Basque Government that issues it rather than Cantabria or Asturias next door. The national rules still hold: freediving only, no scuba, daylight only, no sale of the catch, no loaded speargun out of the water, a visible signalling buoy within 25 m of you, and a 300 m clearance from working professional fishing vessels. Confirm the Basque licence class and any local specifics with the regional government, since those details are not carried in this dataset.
What fish and minimum sizes apply here?
The spot descriptions name sea bass and sea bream over the rock at Cabo Higer and along Jaizkibel. The sizes are the Cantabrian-Northwest caladero table, the same one used along this coast, and worth confirming as the baseline: sea bass is 42 cm, gilthead 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm, grey mullet 20 cm, and conger 58 cm, while octopus is measured by weight at a 1 kg minimum. Pollack carries an operational 42 cm size with a limit of two a day and an Atlantic recreational closure from 1 January to 30 April. Seahorses are protected, and undersized fish must go back.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in Hondarribia?
Cabo Higer at the Bidasoa mouth and the Jaizkibel cliffs to the west are the main rock ground, both exposed. The Asaburua coves below Jaizkibel are the semi-sheltered option, and the inner Txingudi bay is the calm fallback.
Which sea direction is bad at Hondarribia?
The coast opens to the north-northwest, and the bad sector runs from northwest through north to northeast. Northwest is the worst axis, and Cabo Higer is one of the first spots to close out in it.
Do I need a licence, and who issues it?
Yes. Hondarribia is in the Basque Country, so the recreational licence is issued by the Basque Government, not by Cantabria or Asturias. It is freediving only, daylight only, with a buoy within 25 m.
What is the minimum size for sea bass here?
Sea bass is 42 cm in the Cantabrian-Northwest table. Others include gilthead 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm, grey mullet 20 cm, conger 58 cm, and octopus at a 1 kg minimum.
Is scuba spearfishing allowed in Spain?
No. The national rule is freediving only; scuba spearfishing is banned under RD 347/2011. It is also daylight only.
Spain
