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 13:57
Kassandra — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · northerly wind picks up after midday
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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
—
Steam-cargo wreck (grounded 1960) off Cape Poseidi, ~5 m, swimmable off the sand spit — super-shallow structure holding sargos, octopus and juvenile grouper. Shore/short swim. ⚠️ It is inside the Thermaic Gulf closure (Π.Δ. 68/2009 art. 9 §2 γ): fishing is banned there all year, so this is a snorkel, not a hunt.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
—
Reef/drop-off ~30–50 m at Kassandra's S tip (Cape Kassandra) — deep, wind-exposed, amberjack and dentex on the current edge; advanced. Boat/shore. ⚠️ Our Thermaic Gulf outline (Π.Δ. 68/2009 art. 9 §2 γ) reaches this tip and it is drawn as an approximate boundary — treat the water as closed and check with the Kassandra port authority before you carry a gun.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
—
Cargo wreck 16–22 m offshore (Thermaic side, off Kallithea/Nea Fokea) — structure holding grouper, conger and bream in the murkier gulf water. Boat. ⚠️ It is inside the Thermaic Gulf closure (Π.Δ. 68/2009 art. 9 §2 γ), where fishing is banned all year.
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».
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
gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · 2–20 m · EU 1967/2006
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m · EU 1967/2006
flathead grey mullet
Mugil cephalus · 0–8 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).
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
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · 0–12 m · EU 1967/2006
saddled seabream
Oblada melanura · 3–15 m · min 150 g
No EU size — only the 150 g minimum applies.
greater amberjack
Seriola dumerili · 5–30 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.
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
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.
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 · Kassandra
Spearfishing in Kassandra: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-20 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Kassandra is the westernmost and tamest of Halkidiki's three fingers, a developed resort coast with two seas to choose between. The west side faces the Thermaic Gulf and sits in the lee when the meltemi comes down from the north; the east side faces Toroneos and takes over when a Vardaris northwesterly or a southerly swell shuts the west down. So you pick your coast off the wind, enter over sand or rock, and work sargos, gilthead and the odd resident grouper. Best June to October. Greek rules apply: breath-hold only, May closed nationwide, a 5 kg daily bag.
TL;DR
Kassandra is Halkidiki's first and gentlest finger, two coasts back to back: dive the Thermaic (west) side when the meltemi blows from the north, cross to the Toroneos (east) side when a Vardaris northwesterly or a southerly swell kicks up.
The easy money is the Alexandros wreck off Cape Poseidi, a 1960 steam cargo sitting in about 5 m off a sand spit, shallow enough to swim to from shore and the standout beginner ground on the peninsula.
The deep edges ask more of you: the Porto Valitsa wall runs 2 to 60 m on the clearer east side, Avlaki off the south cape is a wind-exposed 30 to 50 m drop for confident divers, and the Mitilini wreck sits 16 to 22 m out in murkier gulf water, a boat job.
Greek national rules: breath-hold only, no new licence issued since 2014, May shut nationwide under ΠΔ 373/1985, a 5 kg daily bag, and grouper at 45 cm with a one-a-day cap.
Best spearfishing entries in Kassandra
None of these lives or dies on its own; the wind picks the coast first. Alexandros off Poseidi is the easy shore wreck on the west side, Porto Valitsa is the clearer east-coast wall, Avlaki is the deep drop off the south cape, and the Mitilini wreck is an offshore gulf job you reach by boat.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Alexandros Wreck (Poseidi)
Shallow shipwreck off a sand spit (Cape Poseidi, west / Thermaic side)
About 5 m, super-shallow over the wreck
Easy, the beginner shore spot
Off Cape Poseidi on the west coast, a short swim from the sand spit.
A steam cargo that grounded here in 1960, now the standout easy shore dive in Halkidiki. The shallow steel pulls in sargos, octopus and juvenile grouper. It sits on the Thermaic side, so this is your calm option on a day the meltemi is blowing out of the north.
✓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).
Porto Valitsa / Koursaros
Wall and drop-off close to shore (east / Toroneos side)
2 to 60 m, straight off the edge
Shallow edge for most, the deep drop for the confident
On the southeast Toroneos-facing coast, from shore or by boat.
The clearer water of the two coasts, with soft coral and fish life stacking on the deep edge. It sits in the lee when the wind is in the west or northwest and opens up to an easterly, so read the forecast before you commit to it.
Avlaki
Reef and drop-off at the south cape (Cape Kassandra)
About 30 to 50 m, deep water
Advanced
At the southern tip of the peninsula, from shore or boat.
Deep and out in the wind, with amberjack and dentex working the current edge. The current and the depth are what make it advanced. It is not the place to test your limits on a marginal day.
Mitilini Wreck
Offshore cargo wreck (west / Thermaic side)
16 to 22 m, offshore
Intermediate, boat only
Off Kallithea and Nea Fokea on the Thermaic coast, by boat.
A cargo wreck holding grouper, conger and sargos in the murkier gulf water. You need a boat to reach it, and the visibility over here rarely matches the east side.
When can you spearfish in Kassandra?
The season runs June to October, and the trick is less about the calendar than about the wind. Kassandra hands you two coasts back to back, so a day that's blown out on one is often diveable on the other. When the meltemi comes down from the north in high summer, the west side on the Thermaic Gulf sits in the lee. When a Vardaris northwesterly bites, or a southerly swell rolls in, the west shuts down and you cross to the Toroneos coast in the east. Mornings are the calmest, before the afternoon breeze fills in. One catch: this is the most developed of the three fingers, its beaches fill through July and August, so you keep well clear of swimmers.
Which coast do you dive in Kassandra?
That's the whole game here. The west coast faces the Thermaic Gulf: it's the lee in a northerly meltemi, but the gulf water runs murkier and it stays open to a Vardaris northwesterly and to any southerly swell. The east coast faces Toroneos: clearer water, better visibility, sheltered when the wind is in the west or northwest. So you don't pick a spot first, you pick a coast off the forecast and then a spot on it. Poseidi and the Mitilini wreck are your west-side calls; Porto Valitsa and Avlaki sit on the east and the south.
What fish and rules apply in Kassandra?
The rock holds sargos, gilthead and a resident grouper or two down on the deep stone, with amberjack and dentex out on the current edges and bluefish passing through. The wrecks add conger and sargos. Legal sizes are national: white seabream 23 cm, gilthead 20 cm, seabass 25 cm, grouper 45 cm, and octopus 750 g; dentex and amberjack fall under the general 150 g floor. Grouper is capped at one a day. Greece hunts on breath-hold only, no scuba even kept aboard, sunrise to sunset, with a signalling buoy and 200 m of clearance from swimmers and harbours. No new spearfishing licence has been issued since 2014, but the free ΟΣΠΑ recreational-fisher registry is rolling out until the end of 2026, so check gov.gr first. May is shut nationwide. And since two of these spots are shipwrecks, check the ENALIA map for protected underwater archaeological zones before you dive them.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in Kassandra?
The Alexandros wreck off Cape Poseidi is the easy shore dive on the west side; Porto Valitsa and Avlaki sit on the clearer east and south coast; the Mitilini wreck is offshore by boat. Pick the coast off the wind first, then the spot.
Which side of Kassandra is better?
It depends on the wind. The west, Thermaic side is the lee in a northerly meltemi but runs murkier; the east, Toroneos side is clearer with better visibility, sheltered from a west or northwest wind but open to an easterly.
Do you need a licence to spearfish in Greece?
No new spearfishing licence has been issued since 2014, and the old one isn't required. Check gov.gr for the ΟΣΠΑ recreational-fisher registry. Hunting is breath-hold only; scuba is banned, even kept aboard.
Is May closed for spearfishing in Kassandra?
Yes. ΠΔ 373/1985 shuts spearfishing across all of Greece for the whole of May, Kassandra included. The useful local season is June to October.
Is Kassandra good for beginners?
The Alexandros wreck off Poseidi is about the friendliest shore ground in Halkidiki, shallow and swimmable off the sand. The deep drop at Avlaki and the offshore Mitilini wreck are another matter.
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