Sources:MeteoAlarm · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 04:41
Sources & confidence
Sources
MeteoAlarm · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
Method
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
MeteoAlarm no dataupdated 04:41
Exposed coast — Kafireas & Meroythi — solo, off the rocks
BEST WINDOW
best weather window · solo, stay careful, run the checklist · calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal
wave 0.3 m head-onwind 5 km/hvisibility ~6 mwindow 06:00–21:00
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
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.
First light is the window: by midday the beach fills up, the sunbeds go out, the canteen opens and boats arrive with it. Go in June and above all September and October, August is crowded and often blown out. All of May is shut across Greece, and a gun in the water is illegal from sunset to sunrise.
tide
The tide has no say in your entry: ten to forty centimetres is less than the gap between two waves. The rest matters: after a few days of meltemi a steady drift runs east along the shore, and out at the reef edge around twenty metres a cold layer sits with water far cleaner than over the sand.
shelter
Bouros sits about ten kilometres southeast of town, and the Ochi massif holds off the northerly: with boria blowing, the water along this shore stays almost flat. From the south it is wide open, though, and Aegean swell walks straight onto the sand until the shallow part of the reef goes milky.
conditions
Northerly and north-easterly days are the ones to drive out for, when the mountain lays the wind down. Just remember the downdraft squalls off Ochi, they hit without warning and tear the surface up. With S or SE the swell rolls in, at five to ten metres the sand lifts and visibility drops to two metres.
hazard
Bouros is an organised beach with sunbeds and a canteen, so keep two hundred metres off the swimmers and work outside, on the reef itself. Marble column drums lie on the bottom, that is archaeology, lift nothing and move nothing. A buoy is mandatory, in summer boats and paddleboards run along the shore.
access
About ten kilometres of tarmac southeast out of Karystos, parking right by the beach. You get in over fine pebble and round marble boulders, so wear boots. The reef is a hundred and fifty to three hundred metres out, five to ten minutes at an easy pace, or a quarter of an hour by boat from the town harbour.
Reef 5–25 m off Bouros beach (ancient marble columns) E of Karystos — open clear water; sargos, dentex, amberjack. Shore/boat.
Dive-club boats sit over the wreck from early on, plenty of them at weekends, August peaks for traffic while June and September are quiet. The Greek season starts in June and at night the gun is banned. Here it is banned in daylight too: the site is closed.
tide
Level of ten to forty centimetres, no role at all. Something else works: the gulf squeezes water through the passages between the islets, and a noticeable flow comes over the hull and drags you along it. The ship rests on sand, so any current lifts murk, and you always enter from the upcurrent side.
shelter
The mark sits in the South Euboean gulf on the island's western side, and Evia screens it from the whole north-easterly flow: when Kafireas howls it is still smooth here. The gulf is narrow, though, so a hard northerly builds a short chopped sea. Spearfishing over the wreck is prohibited.
conditions
Over the hull the visibility is nearly always better than on the open side; a hard northerly makes the run out wet and lifts silt off the sand beside the plating. For the gun it is no use, though: inside the declared zone spearfishing is banned — work outside it, towards Marmari.
hazard
The islet and the water around it fall inside the declared underwater site «Drakospito – Pyrgos Nimboriou, Styra» (ΦΕΚ 153/Δ/2022); spearfishing there is expressly prohibited under ΚΥΑ ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004, policed by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, and nothing comes up. Netting and cut cable hang off the superstructure.
access
Boat only. The nearest harbours are Nea Styra and Marmari, ten to twenty minutes out to the islet, while from Karystos itself it is an hour around the cape. The hull sits on sand at the edge of the rocks, so no anchor onto stone. You do not take the gun — closed water.
Cement-freighter wreck (1973), 20–30 m, upright on sand off an islet in S Evia near Nea Styra/Petalioi; amberjack and grouper live on it. Boat. ⚠️ It lies inside the declared underwater archaeological area Drakospito–Pyrgos Nimboriou, Styra (ΦΕΚ 153/Δ/2022), so ΚΥΑ ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004 bans spearfishing over it.
Start at first light and work the early hours, before the strait gets going, because by midday it is usually unusable. Genuinely workable days are few: June and October give calms more often than July and August do. May is closed, and night hunting is banned all year round.
tide
Everything here rests on the current: it runs in the strait all the time and does not stop when the wind does, so you work on the drift and the boat follows your buoy. The level changes by ten to forty centimetres and plays no part. On the reef the flow pushes cold water up from below, often noticeably colder than the surface.
shelter
There is no shelter here at all: the reef sits inside Cavo D'Oro, in the middle of the funnel, and no shoreline covers it. The northerly accelerates in the strait and builds a short vicious sea, the southerly drags swell up from the Aegean. Only a genuine calm works, otherwise you cannot even approach.
conditions
The only window is a dead calm with a forecast you have checked several hours ahead. When wind sets against the current the sea stands up like a wall in minutes and you go home across a completely different water. A beginner has no business here, however quiet the surface looks on arrival.
hazard
Cavo D'Oro is a shipping corridor: ferries and cargo ships run the strait constantly and a buoy is hard to spot from a bridge. The current can cut you off from your boat in minutes, so no solo hunting and no anchoring without somebody aboard. Thirty-five metres plus current is the road to a blackout.
access
Boat only, and a proper one: east out of Karystos harbour along the coast, roughly an hour in a calm sea. There is no shore entry, the coastline around is cliff and the road past Platanistos gets rough. Plan your run home in advance, before the wind gets up rather than after.
Reef ~15–35 m inside the Cavo D'Oro straits — ⚠️ Kafireas current + swell, experienced only; amberjack on the current. Boat.
Head out early, while the strait has not woken up and the boat runs easy. June, September and October are the working months; in high summer the east wind eats half the days. Night is banned from sunset to sunrise, and May is closed everywhere in the country.
tide
The level plays with twenty centimetres or so, forget it. What matters is that the water runs at the tip of the cape: the current bends around it and speeds up, while right behind sits dead water. The wreck makes its own eddies, and enter from the wrong side and you are off the mark before you catch your breath.
shelter
The cape does the work here: its bulk covers the western side while Kafireas pushes east and north-east, so reef and wreck stay in the shadow with a glassy surface while it whitecaps outside. The weak point is west and south-west wind, against that there is nothing to hide behind.
conditions
Come exactly on the days when the east wind blows and the eastern side is unworkable, because that is when it is flat here. With west or south-west the wave drives straight into the cape, at ten metres it starts to rock and silt settles over the wreck. After three days of meltemi, give it time to clear.
hazard
The wreck itself is the main thing: torn netting and line hang on the old steel, snagging takes a second, and you do not go inside. Depths reach thirty metres, which with a gun is serious, and nobody dives this one alone. Buoy always, and lift nothing off the wreck, that is a criminal matter in Greece.
access
Boat only: west out of Karystos harbour along the coast, twenty to twenty-five minutes depending on the sea. I have not confirmed a road down to the cape, nobody enters from the shore here. There is no mooring, so work on the drift and keep somebody aboard at the helm.
Reef + wreck ~10–30 m on the W side of Mnima cape — western lee. Boat.
Dawn and early morning, before the ferries and the day boats start moving. The months that work are June, September and October, while August turns this place into a parade of hulls and anchor lines. Hunting at night is banned year-round, and all of May in Greece is a closed spawning period.
tide
The level is insignificant, twenty or thirty centimetres. Between the islets, though, the water is squeezed into the narrows and speeds up, so in the passages you feel the drag and you plan the swim with the flow rather than against it. After rain a murky brackish layer comes off the mainland and sits on top.
shelter
The Petalioi chain is scattered across the gulf northwest of town and it is the classic lee: the islands sit behind Cavo D'Oro and Evia itself kills the north-easterly. You pick an islet and work its downwind side, while the shore marks at Marmari and Nea Styra fill in whatever is left.
conditions
You come here precisely when the south coast is torn up: with a northerly or north-easterly there is nearly always somewhere in the gulf to tuck into. What ruins it is west and south-west, which runs the length of the gulf unobstructed and raises a short chop. After long rains the water here goes greener.
hazard
Marmari is a port on the Rafina line and the fairway is alive: keep three hundred metres off harbour works and moored vessels and stay out of their track. The three big Petalioi are private, landing is prohibited and you do not work along their jetties. If you see cages or nets, the same three hundred metres apply.
access
By boat is simplest: ten to twenty minutes from Marmari harbour out to the nearer islets. From land, turnoffs along the Marmari to Nea Styra road drop to small coves, with parking above and a scramble down the rock. The reef out there is deep and exact figures are not published, so sound it yourself.
Petalioi islet chain in the S Euboean gulf NW of Karystos (lee of Cavo D'Oro), deep reef; + shore marks Marmari/Nea Styra (W lee). Boat/shore.
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.
point your camera
≈
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…
Karystos — Marmari ferry port, S. Evian Gulf (~9 km W of Karystos) (meteocam.gr)meteocam.gr (Cybex) live — Marmari ferry port, S. Evian Gulf (~9 km W of Karystos). Embedded via our proxy (the stream sends no CORS). Read the water and surf before you go.camera: meteocam ↗
National minimum sizes + a 150 g floor (in the table below); grouper 1/day. Spearfishing is closed all May (ΠΔ 373/1985).
In season now
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · 0–12 m · EU 1967/2006
gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · 2–20 m · EU 1967/2006
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m · EU 1967/2006
greater amberjack
Seriola dumerili · 5–30 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · 0–15 m · weight ≥750 g
Minimum by weight: ≥750 g (ΠΔ 62/2024). Don't take egg-bearing females.
dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus · 8–35 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
wreckfish / stone bass
Polyprion americanus · 30–60 m · EU 1967/2006
Deep wreck species. Does NOT count toward the grouper limit (different genus). 45 cm — to verify.
common dentex
Dentex dentex · 12–40 m · min 150 g
Premier reef target. No EU size — the 150 g minimum only. Ethical ≥40 cm (not law).
red porgy
Pagrus pagrus · 15–40 m · EU 1967/2006
saddled seabream
Oblada melanura · 3–15 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
leerfish / garrick
Lichia amia · 2–20 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
Mediterranean barracuda
Sphyraena viridensis · 3–25 m · min 150 g
No EU size — the 150 g minimum only. Histamine: bleed and chill at once.
flathead grey mullet
Mugil cephalus · 0–8 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
striped seabream
Lithognathus mormyrus · 2–15 m · EU 1967/2006
brown meagre / corb
Sciaena umbra · 5–30 m · EU 1967/2006
striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus · 3–30 m · EU 1967/2006
white grouper
Epinephelus aeneus · 15–45 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
goldblotch grouper
Epinephelus costae · 10–35 m · EU 1967/2006
Grouper: max 1/day (shared genus-Epinephelus limit).
devil firefish (lionfish)
Pterois miles · 5–40 m · invasive
⚠️ Invasive — removal encouraged, excellent flesh. Venomous spines: never grab bare-handed, cut the spines, treat a sting with hot water (>45 °C).
silver-cheeked toadfish
Lagocephalus sceleratus · 5–40 m · invasive
☠️ Invasive — kill, but DO NOT EAT: deadly toxin (TTX). Sale banned (Reg. 853/2004, Annex III Sect. VIII Ch. V(E)). Powerful beak bites — never string it live on a stringer.
Law
✓⚠️ MAY — a TOTAL spearfishing ban for the whole month, every year (ΠΔ 373/1985, art. 3§1α). This is law in force, not a draft.
✓No licence required: the was abolished in 2014 (Ν. 4256/2014) — every standing prohibition stays in force all the same.
•Recreational-fisher registry (ΟΣΠΑ / Μητρώο Ερασιτεχνών Αλιέων): Reg. (EU) 2023/2842 obliges member states to register recreational fishing, and the Greek registry is described as being prepared. We found neither an act in force nor a working registry as of 08.2026 — not confirmed. Check gov.gr before you travel.
✓Age: 16+ (under-16 spearfishing is forbidden; ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1γ).
✓Daytime only: sunrise to sunset. Night is forbidden (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1β).
✓Freediving only: scuba/any air-supply apparatus is banned — it may not even be carried aboard (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2γ).
✓Distances: ≥200 m from bathers, harbours, moored vessels and marked nets; no hunting in fairways or harbour entrances/exits (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§1δ/ε).
✓Buoy MANDATORY: a yellow float + a yellow flag with a red diagonal stripe and the letters «Υ.Δ.», visible from ≥300 m; stay within 50 m of the buoy (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§3).
✓Limit: 5 kg/day (or one trophy heavier than the limit). Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day, not banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2).
✓Sale/trade of the recreational catch is prohibited (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 1§7).
✓Load the speargun only in the water — never keep it loaded out of the water (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2β). Underwater light while hunting is forbidden (art. 3§2ζ).
✓Sea urchins — 20/day per person and 30/day per boat (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2). Nets at any stage of the hunt are banned, and you may not take the catch out of somebody else's gear or nets (art. 3§2). Sponges and corals are off limits to the recreational fisher (art. 1§6).
✓Pneumatic and band guns are ALLOWED (a myth in English guides). Only spears with an explosive/chemical charge — — are banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2δ).
Min. sizes: seabass 25 cm · gilthead 20 cm · white seabream 23 cm · grouper 45 cm · octopus 750 g (ΠΔ 62/2024). Any fish — not under 150 g (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2στ). No-size species (dentex, amberjack, barracuda, parrotfish) — the 150 g minimum only. See the species card.
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 · Karystos
Spearfishing in Karystos: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing Karystos is a Kafireas decision before it is a spot decision. The SE tip of Evia can be clear and blue, with dentex and amberjack on current points, but Cavo D'Oro accelerates N/NE wind and builds current and swell. Bouros is the clear-water shore/boat reef, Mnima is a western-lee boat option, and Marmari/Petalioi is the practical escape when the strait is angry.
TL;DR
Karystos sits beside the Kafireas/Cavo D'Oro wind funnel, with N/NE gales, wind-driven current and big swell.
Clear Aegean water can hold dentex and amberjack on current points, but those points are not for marginal weather.
Use the W/Marmari and Petalioi lee or narrow calm windows; Jul-Aug often blows out.
Where should you spearfish in Karystos?
Think lee first. Current points can be excellent, but Marmari/Petalioi is the safer direction when Kafireas is working.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Bouros Reef
Open clear-water reef
5-25 m
Intermediate
Shore or boat
East of Karystos, with sargos, dentex and amberjack noted near ancient marble columns.
Mnima Reef & Wreck
Reef and wreck
About 10-30 m
Intermediate
Boat
W side of Mnima cape, a more sheltered boat plan than the open straits.
Petalioi / Marmari
Islet chain, deep reef and shore marks
Deep reef plus shore marks
Intermediate to advanced
Boat or shore
NW of Karystos in the S Euboean gulf, the lee of Cavo D'Oro, with Natura 2000 advisory checks.
What conditions matter most in Karystos?
Kafireas funnels N/NE wind, so check the Marmari ferry-port camera and the actual sea before committing. Best legal timing is Jun and Sep-Oct; May is closed by law, and Jul-Aug often blows out. Greek legal baseline: May is totally banned (ΠΔ 373/1985); no licence since 2014; freediving-only; 5 kg/day. Linari and Petalioi sit in Natura 2000 advisory marine zones, so check local rules.
✓Full ban on taking: Pinna nobilis (πίννα), corals and sponges (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 1§6 + Habitats Directive 92/43).
✓Invasives: taking the lionfish (λεοντόψαρο) is encouraged — ⚠️ venomous spines. The silver-cheeked toadfish (λαγοκέφαλος) ☠️ DO NOT EAT — deadly toxin (TTX), sale banned (Reg. 853/2004, Annex III Sect. VIII Ch. V(E)), it bites. The rabbitfish (γερμανός) is edible — venomous spines.
✓In ANY declared underwater archaeological site, and in the submerged historic sites, spearfishing is BANNED — the act names ψαροντούφεκο in so many words (ΚΥΑ ΥΠΠΟ/ΓΔΑΠΚ/ΑΡΧ/Α1/Φ41/11228/1865, ΦΕΚ 336/Β/2004, part Α §2 δ + part Β). It reaches the sites our map does not draw, too. Do not touch antiquities (Ν. 3028/2002). Map of the zones — the ENALIA geoportal (thalchor-2.ypen.gov.gr/layers/geonode:ENALIA).
•The national marine parks of Alonissos/N. Sporades and Zakynthos (Laganas): spearfishing is BANNED in the park. But Alonissos zone Β4 is not solid — ΦΕΚ 1741/Β/2011 reopened four stretches inside it (the N shore Αγ. Δημήτριος–Άκρο Απύθμενο, Μηλιά–Σπαρτίνες, όρμος Κλήμα on Περιστέρα, the Μεγάλος Αδελφός shore), while the same act creates the ΕΕΑΧ Περιστέρας, where fishing IS banned. Our layer paints the park whole, i.e. stricter than the act. Check the limits with the park authority.
•The Southern Kynouria/Arcadia diving park: Ν. 4688/2020 establishes underwater parks, but we have not read a spearfishing prohibition inside it in the act — we treat that as NOT PROVEN rather than as confirmed. The park's boundary is not on our map either (the act publishes no coordinates). Ask the Leonidio/Tyros λιμεναρχείο before you go.
•Local bans: on top of the national rules, every port authority issues its own (ΓΚΛ/ΕΚΛ and λιμενάρχης decisions). In the ΛΣ-ΕΛ.ΑΚΤ registry we counted ~163 of them that reach a speargun, across 48 ports — our map does NOT draw them. Check your own port: alieia.hcg.gr/prohibitions/local/local17.php.
•Locally STRICTER than the national rule: Corfu (Kerkyra) — from 01.04 to 31.10 spearfishing is banned within 200 m of the shore, even where nobody is swimming (απόφαση Λ/Χ Κέρκυρας 2141.1/2939/2024, ΦΕΚ Β΄3269/2024). In practice that closes shore entry on Corfu for the season. We read the act in the registry, not in the ΦΕΚ — confirm with the λιμεναρχείο.
•Locally STRICTER: Lefkada — 300 m instead of 200, and not only the speargun: ψαροντούφεκο, nets and longlines are banned within 300 m of those sea areas, beaches and shores of the port district THAT ARE USED BY BATHERS (απόφαση Λ/Χ Λευκάδας 2131.13/1477/2022, in its own words «όπου χρησιμοποιούνται από λουόμενους»). The act ran to 30.09.2022 and we found no extension; an expired act is not proof that the ban is gone. Ask the Lefkada λιμεναρχείο.
•Locally STRICTER: Symi — from 15.06 to 15.09 fishing BY ANY MEANS is banned within 200 m of beach areas and in inhabited coastal areas WHERE BATHERS ARE PRESENT OR GATHER (απόφαση Λ/Χ Σύμης 2131.13/882/2016). Separately, year-round: fishing by any means is banned inside the port and its sea zone, except line/rod fishing from land (ΓΚΛ Σύμης, art. 151, ΦΕΚ 362/Β/2004). The acts were copied from the registry, not checked against the ΦΕΚ.
•Locally: inside the ports of Lavrio and Kea spearfishing is banned across the WHOLE port water, not merely under the 200 m rule; separately, in front of the hotel beaches (ΓΚΛ Λαυρίου, art. 240, ΦΕΚ 460/Β/1978). The act was copied from the registry, not checked against the ΦΕΚ.
•Coming: two new national marine parks are being created (Ionian + South Cyclades, ~27,500 km²). NOT yet in force (ΠΔ under review, mid-2026). Once live — a trawl ban + a seasonal coastal closure 15.04–31.05; in the strict zones spearfishing will be banned. Check before the season.
⛔ Pinna nobilis (πίννα, fan mussel) — full ban on taking/killing (Habitats Dir. 92/43 Annex IV; critically endangered).
Rules change, and the local Λιμεναρχείο (port authority) may impose local restrictions. Before heading out, check the current rules and the declared archaeological zones (ENALIA).
FAQ
Do you need a license to spearfish in Karystos?
No. Greece has required no recreational fishing licence since 2014, but check the state sign-up.
Is May banned?
Yes. The national May spearfishing ban applies to Karystos under ΠΔ 373/1985.
Why is Karystos windy?
Kafireas and Cavo D'Oro funnel N/NE wind, creating wind-driven current and large swell.
Where is the lee?
West toward Marmari and Petalioi, or only in narrow calm windows near the current points.
Is Linari for beginners?
No. Linari sits in the Cavo D'Oro straits with current and swell, so it is experienced-only.
