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.
point your camera
0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
no dataupdated 03:33
L'Escala — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · the sea hasn't settled after the swell
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.
point your camera
−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.
Dawn only: the two dive centres on the cove itself put groups in the water by nine, and the campsites empty onto the sand. Water is around 13 C in February and 23 C in August; the clearest spells fall in April, May, September and October. Nights are out — hunting is allowed sunrise to sunset only.
tide
The tide is twenty centimetres and nobody here looks at it. Look at the rain: after downpours the Fluvià and Muga from the north and the Ter from the south push turbid plumes, and the longshore drift carries them southwest past the mouth. Inside Montgó itself there is no current — the water sits still and clouds slowly.
shelter
Montgó is a deep cove at the foot of the Montgrí massif, and the massif really works: with Tramuntana from the north the wind passes overhead while the water below stands still — locals call it a tramuntana refuge. The mouth opens east and northeast, so Llevant and Gregal walk in with nothing to stop them.
conditions
The good day is Tramuntana or Ponent from the west: 15-25 metres along the rocky sides, less over the shallow middle. With an easterly near 90 degrees, or Gregal from 50, the cove is shut — the sea reaches the very head, the sand lifts and you get two or three metres. The shallow part holds 8-10 metres, then it drops away.
First, the divers: boats and shore groups work both walls of the cove; the buoy is compulsory and you may not stray more than 25 metres from it. Second, the 250 metres from bathing areas: in summer that writes off the whole beach strip by day. Load the gun underwater only, and tanks are banned for spearfishing.
access
Tarmac from L'Escala runs right to the beach, parking is paid in season and the sandy entry is gentle. Five to ten minutes swim to the rock wall on either side, with depth building slowly. The second way in is over the rocks at Punta Milà on the south side: deeper straight away, but the scramble down is awkward and slippery.
Rocky cove south of L'Escala; rock at both ends, sea bream and gilthead, exposed to the easterly (E).
The spot is urban, so the window is short: arrive before eight while the promenade is still empty. In summer you get swimmers and tenders out of L'Escala harbour; in winter almost nobody. Water is 12.7 C in February and 21.6 C in September. Night hunting is banned across Spain — sunrise to sunset only.
tide
Sea level does not matter here — the range is about twenty centimetres. Geometry does: at the arch and in the narrow gap the water breathes back and forth with the swell, and it throws you around far more than it looks from the shore. There is no permanent current off this headland — your drift comes from the wind alone.
shelter
Portitxol is a small rocky notch on the north face of the L'Escala headland, with a natural arch over the water. It faces north and northwest, which means it works the opposite way to the rest of this coast: with Llevant from the east it stays workable, while Tramuntana from the north drives straight in and kills the place.
conditions
This is your fallback in an easterly: while Montgó and the Montgrí spurs are shut, the water under this headland stays workable and you get 8-15 metres. With Tramuntana and northwest, roughly the 300 to 20 degree sector, the notch takes the sea head on, the silt stays up and you are left with two or three metres.
The 250 metre rule from bathing areas bites hardest here: in summer the town strip is effectively shut by day and you can only work the ends of the headland. Tenders leave L'Escala harbour constantly, so make the buoy a bright one. The arch and the gullies look great, but you do not enter them in swell and the rock is slippery.
access
Ten minutes on foot from the centre of L'Escala along the promenade; leave the car in town, because there is no parking by the notch itself. Down by steps and rocks, entry off a slab. No swim needed: the ground starts immediately and depths are modest, around eight metres by the headland.
Rocky coves of the Montgrí; mixed bottom, semi-sheltered from the easterly.
Work at first light, before the dive centre boats leave Montgó. The best window of the year is September and October: water 21-23 C and visibility that holds. In July and August mero, corball de roca and octopus are closed. The licence is Catalan and specific to spearfishing — you apply through the Generalitat.
tide
The tidal swing here is about twenty centimetres and gives you nothing. On the spurs themselves, after several days of settled Llevant, a weak longshore drift sets up to the southwest — not the Cap de Creus current, but your buoy creeps away. Check it every few dives and do not go round the corner.
shelter
These are the rocky spurs of the Montgrí massif at either end of Montgó cove: Punta Milà on the south side and Punta del Ferro on the north. Both face east, and the shelter works differently on each: with Tramuntana both walls sit in the mountain's lee, with Llevant from the east neither saves you and the sea hits the stone head on.
conditions
Come with a north or northwesterly: 20-30 metres along the drop-offs, cleaner than inside the cove. With an easterly from 50 to 150 degrees stay away — it breaks over the rock, and getting out through stones in a surge is the worst idea going. The Medes and their protection zone lie five or six kilometres south, and the gun does not go there.
Legal side: do not drift south — five to seven kilometres away the Medes protection zone begins, where spearfishing is banned under Ley 15/2010 art. 8; the landmark is Punta de El Molinet by l'Estartit. Physical side: drop-offs, surge on the rock and artisanal nets along the coast — keep at least 100 metres from any gear.
access
Leave the car at the Montgó car park and take the path along the southern side towards Punta Milà, about fifteen minutes over rock and through pines. The northern spur, Punta del Ferro, sits closer to the L'Escala road. Entry off a slab, no beach, and with surge do not try. Two or three minutes from the edge to the drop-off.
Montgrí rocky ground outside the reserve; rock drop-offs, moderately exposed to the E; respect the Medes boundary.
In summer you can only work at dawn and along the ends: the Riells campsite empties onto the beach early. Water is 14 C in April and 19-20 C in October; the shallows warm first, so autumn stays comfortable here longer. Night is banned, sunrise to sunset only, and torches for spearfishing are separately prohibited.
tide
Tides do not enter the conversation here. Sand does: the bottom is shallow and gently sloping, and after an easterly blow the murk hangs a day or two longer than on the rocky spots. Add the town storm drains after rain and the traffic of L'Escala harbour next door — the water clouds for a while and there is no current to flush it.
shelter
These are the rocky ends of the urban Riells beaches: the strip opens east and southeast, and the only cover is the L'Escala headland to the north. With Tramuntana it is flat and clean; with Gregal from the northeast the sea bends round the headland and gets in anyway, and Llevant lays the shorebreak straight onto the sand.
conditions
This is a place for a calm day and for starting out: with a northerly you get 8-12 metres, depths are modest and entry is easy. With an easterly from 70 to 130 degrees the beach sand lifts instantly and visibility falls to one or two metres — not worth the drive, better to move to the other side of the headland.
Legal comes first here: the Catalan 250 metres from bathing areas effectively shuts the whole beach strip by day in summer — stay on the rocky ends and well clear of the marker buoys. Then tenders from L'Escala harbour, wakeboards and paddleboards. Never load the gun out of the water, not even on the rocks at the waterline.
access
You come in along avinguda de Riells; there is street parking and space by the campsite, though by nine in summer nothing is left. Entry straight off the sand, no scramble at all. Five minutes along the shore to the rocky ends, or the same by swimming; there you find stone and small slabs at three to eight metres.
Rocky ends of the town beaches; easy entry, lightly exposed, good for beginners.
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».
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011). Cataluña: 50 cm, máx. 2 ejemplares/día — Resolució ARP/3310/2025.
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Mediterranean · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos. Cataluña: veda del pulpo de roca aprox. jul–sep, por zonas — Resolució ARP/3310/2025.
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.
FAQ — spearfishing in L'Escala
Where can I spearfish in L'Escala?
L'Escala has rock entry points such as Cala Montgó, Punta Montgó (Els Ullastres) and Cala del Golfet / Portitxol. L'Escala faces east under the Montgrí, right beside the Medes boundary, which must be respected. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in L'Escala?
Long season (May–October), with summer going glassy. Tide barely matters — follow the solunar and the thermocline; there are posidonia meadows and, at peak summer, plenty of boats and swimmers.
How cold is the water in L'Escala?
Mediterranean: ~13 °C in winter to ~25 °C in summer. A 3 mm suit in high summer, 5 mm in spring and autumn — but the thermocline can leave the water much colder at depth.
Is L'Escala good for a beginner?
Accessible: generally calm sea, clear water and little current — good for building water time on small-sea days. Mind the boat traffic in summer; always use the buoy.
Do I need a licence in L'Escala?
Yes — in L'Escala you need a recreational sea-fishing licence (issued by the autonomous community); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide.
✓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.
✓Catalonia: the «Llicència de pesca recreativa subaquàtica» (recreational spearfishing) is issued by the Generalitat de Catalunya — applied for at tramits.gencat.cat.
✓Bans: Illes Medes, Ses Negres (Begur), parts of Cap de Creus — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Catalonia (Decret 109/1995): the daily cap per licence is 10 kg of fish, 5 kg of cephalopods and 150 sea urchins (art. 25.1); the excess weight of one big specimen does not count (art. 25.2), and for tuna and swordfish there are no kilos at all — the cap is 2 pieces a day (art. 25.3). Sunrise to sunset only (art. 15), on a breath hold, with a hand spear or a mechanically propelled gun that may be loaded ONLY under water (art. 16). Keep 100 m from set gear, marine farms, anglers' rods and professional vessels, and at least 250 m from bathing zones measured along the shore (art. 17); lamps, torches, powder- or gas-propelled guns and explosive points are banned (art. 18); a surface buoy is mandatory (art. 19). Only fish, cephalopods and sea urchins may be taken (art. 24.1), and the triton (Charonia lampa — así lo imprime el decreto), the fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) and the date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) may not be collected at all (art. 24.2).
Spain
