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 13:56
Lefkada — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · northerly wind picks up after midday
wave <0.1 m head-onwind 7 km/hvisibility ~7 mwindow 15:00–21:00
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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
Get in at first light: before ten the beach is nearly empty, then the water taxis from Vasiliki arrive and the place fills up. Season is June, then September and October, when Eric blows weaker and the water is at its clearest. All of May is shut across Greece, and hunting from sunset to sunrise is banned.
tide
The tide decides nothing here, the level moves maybe twenty centimetres. What counts is wind and fresh water: the drop runs steeply from zero to thirty metres, and after heavy rain the gorge behind the beach sends out a cloudy freshwater tongue that hangs at the surface a day or two and kills the view at the entrance.
shelter
The cove is pinned against cliffs in the western corner of Vasiliki Bay: the wall at your back kills the northerly, but the bay itself lies open to south and west. While the boria blows you get glass at the entrance; once the westerly fills in, the wave runs straight into the throat of the cove.
conditions
Only the morning is worth the drive: from about one o'clock a thermal westerly builds across the bay, the windsurfers call it Eric, and by evening you get a hundred sails and a metre of chop. With a settled west or southwest the pebble at the entrance goes up into the water and visibility drops to three metres.
hazard
The beach is part-organised, sunbeds, a bar, swimmers: keep two hundred metres off them and never surface in the middle of a crowd. Water taxis run right up to the pebbles and moor there, and the Kefalonia and Ithaca ferries cross the bay, so a marker buoy is compulsory. The drop falls away fast, do not push depth alone.
access
Three kilometres of dirt track out of Vasiliki, a paid car park at the top for about seven euros, then five hundred metres down a steep path, and with a weight belt and fins you feel every one of them. In season the alternative is the water taxi from Vasiliki port, roughly twenty minutes. Entry over pebbles.
Rocky reef and cove with a drop 0–30 m at the sheltered edge of Vasiliki Bay, shore; dive AM before the afternoon west wind builds.
Leave at first light: by midday the thermal wind is up and the run home along the cliffs turns unpleasant. The months that actually work are June and early autumn, September and October, when western swell shows up less often. Hunting from sunset to sunrise is banned year-round, and the whole of May is shut in Greece.
tide
Forget the level, ten to thirty centimetres and that is it. Something else runs the show: water streams round the tip of the cape and you feel it on the corner, while on the wall from twenty to fifty metres a cold layer sits all summer and the fish drop into it in the heat. Do not swim against it, work the drift and keep the boat moving.
shelter
There is no shelter here at all: this is the island's southwest corner, thirty-metre white cliffs and a wall dropping from twenty to fifty. Everything arriving from the west and northwest hits it with nothing in the way. The only lee comes on a clean easterly, when the bulk of Lefkada stands between you and the wind.
conditions
You come here on a dead-flat day and with experience behind you. The working setup is wind from east or northeast with zero swell out of the west; two hundred and seventy degrees, straight west, is the worst this place offers. Even old swell with no wind piles surge along the cliff and turns the climb back aboard into a lottery.
hazard
The real danger is that there is nowhere to get out: thirty metres of cliff, no shore at all, and if the wind builds only the boat saves you, so somebody always stays at the helm. Add the flow on the corner of the cape, fifty metres under you and no phone signal in the shadow of the rock. Buoy compulsory, scuba with a gun is banned.
access
You cannot climb down to this one: a paved road runs out to the lighthouse and there is a car park on top, but no path off the cliff. So it is boat only, twenty to thirty minutes from Vasiliki along the south coast, considerably longer from Nydri, right around the bottom of the island. Agree the pickup point in advance.
Dramatic SW-tip cape wall 20–50 m, boat; fully W/SW-exposed swell and current round the cape, experienced only on flat days.
The first hours after sunrise are when the channel is empty. From ten the tourist boats start their island circuit, and by lunchtime rented runabouts join in, with nobody keeping watch. June and the first half of autumn beat August: fewer people, cleaner water. Hunting is banned from sunset to sunrise and May is closed.
tide
Level decides nothing here, the difference between waters stays within ten to forty centimetres. What matters is that the water wraps around the rock and forms tongues of flow at the ends of the reef: on one side it pulls you off the islet, on the other it pins you to it. Find the quiet corner, work from there, and only let yourself drift toward the boat.
shelter
A low rocky islet in the middle of the strait: Lefkada shields it from the west, Meganisi from the east, so a serious wave almost never gets here. The reef and its drop from ten to forty-five metres can be worked all the way round, and there is always a lee side. The one thing that reaches it is a long northeasterly fetch down the channel.
conditions
Conditions here forgive a lot: you can dive almost any day of the season, including the ones when the whole west coast is written off. Watch wind strength rather than direction, above fifteen knots the channel throws up a short mean chop that makes holding the buoy and seeing the boat hard. Murk after rain also arrives faster than on the open coast.
hazard
The danger here is not nature but traffic: the islet sits on the pleasure-boat route and half the people at the wheel are on the water for the first time in their lives. Keep the flagged buoy above you and surface along the rock, not out in open water. Yachts lie at anchor in the coves nearby, stay three hundred metres off them and off the Skorpios shore.
access
You get there by boat: ten to fifteen minutes out of Nydri, less from Spartochori harbour on Meganisi. Coming down from Lefkada town, remember the floating bridge at Agia Mavra, it opens on a schedule and inside the canal you are in a shipping fairway, not out for a stroll. There is no need to land on the rock, you work straight off the boat.
Another sheltered channel islet reef/drop 10–45 m, boat; easy calm hunting.
Before nine is the only quiet window: after that the channel fills with a parade of charter yachts and tourist boats running people out to look at the Onassis islands. The season opens in June, and the water is at its best in September and October. Hunting from sunset to sunrise is forbidden, and May is closed nationwide.
tide
Level counts for nothing here, ten to thirty centimetres. What does count is the steady draw between the islets: in the narrows off Sparti the water pulls evenly and noticeably, especially after a few days of northerlies. Start your swim against it so you come back to the boat with the flow instead of clawing at the end.
shelter
The islet sits in the Meganisi channel, boxed in by Lefkada, Skorpios and Meganisi itself: western swell physically cannot reach it, the island's mountain kills it. The wall from fifteen down to fifty metres works on almost any day. Wind here only funnels along the channel, out of the northeast and southeast, and barely raises a wave.
conditions
This is where you move when the west side is blown to pieces: while surge pounds under Doukato, here it stays flat. It only turns bad on a long northeasterly that pulls down the channel for two or three days and stirs the top few metres. A southeasterly lays the water down on the south side of the islet, and that is where you work.
hazard
Sparti and neighbouring Skorpios are private property inside a Natura 2000 area: nobody goes ashore, security moves you on, and the exact limits are worth checking locally. The water is workable, but the Nydri to Meganisi ferry runs the channel along with rented boats that keep no lookout. Stay three hundred metres off anchored yachts.
access
Boat only. Fifteen minutes out of Nydri, a little more from Vlicho, and from Spartochori on Meganisi it is right there. You cannot tie up to the shore, so the boat drifts nearby with someone aboard while you swim the wall from where you dropped in. Check fuel and forecast before you leave, there is no fuel stop in the channel.
Sheltered Meganisi-channel islet wall 15–50 m, boat; grouper/dentex, the go-to when the west is swelly.
People visit the cave in the middle of the day, when the sun is high and the water inside glows, which is exactly why the boats bring them. For hunting that is the worst hour: excursion boats show up between eleven and four. Work early morning or late afternoon, but finish before sunset, after which hunting is banned. Season from June, May is closed.
tide
Tide is negligible here, a couple of dozen centimetres. The vertical matters more: the reef edge falls from twelve to fifty-five metres, and in August a sharp cold boundary sits around thirty, below which the water is visibly cleaner and the fish calmer. Inside the cave the water barely moves, while on the lip you feel the channel drawing past.
shelter
The mark sits under Lefkada's southeastern shoulder, right at the mouth of the Meganisi channel: the mass of the island cuts off west and northwest completely, so it stays calm here when Doukato is unfishable. What remains open is the south, the notias pushes swell up the strait and then the cave mouth gets a nasty jobble.
conditions
The spot works through most of the season: the maistro and any westerly only ruffle the surface here. Call it off on south and southeast, swell rolls up the strait and the narrow throat of the cave starts throwing you around. After long rains the reef edge holds clarity better than the shallows, so drop below twelve metres.
hazard
A cave means a ceiling over your head: no partner at the entrance, no light and no clear way out means you do not go in, and a gun in a tight passage only gets in the way. Second, the depth: the edge runs past fifty metres and it is easy to lose control on the way up. Third, tourist boats right at the mouth, so buoy and red flag are compulsory.
access
Water access only. The nearest departure is Sivota, a small closed harbour on the south coast, about fifteen minutes away; from Nydri it is longer, round the headland and down the channel. There is no shore descent: above the mark there is only hillside and scrub, no path to the water. Leave someone aboard, an anchor holds badly on an edge like this.
Sheltered E-coast blue-water cave and a deep reef edge 12–55 m, boat; calm.
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…
Lefkada — Bay toward Lefkada town + bridge (theathalatta.gr)Live HLS (ipcamlive) — Bay toward Lefkada town + bridge. Open CORS, embedded directly. Read the water before you go.camera: ipcamlive ↗
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
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).
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
leerfish / garrick
Lichia amia · 2–20 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.
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.
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.
greater amberjack
Seriola dumerili · 5–30 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).
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.
FAQ — spearfishing in Lefkada
Where can I spearfish in Lefkada?
Lefkada has rock entry points such as Agiofili (Canyon), Cape Doukato (Lefkatas) and Sparti islet. 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. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Lefkada?
June to October (May closed nationally); the Ionian west sees far less meltemi than the Aegean, so calm windows are more frequent.
How cold is the water in Lefkada?
Softer, greener, milder water than the Aegean, tideless; good visibility but more life and a touch more colour.
Is Lefkada good for a beginner?
Easy to moderate: more shelter and fewer wind days than the Aegean make the Ionian a forgiving place to dive.
Do I need a licence in Lefkada?
No paid licence is needed in Lefkada — the amateur one was abolished (Law 4256/2014), but a free ΟΣΠΑ registration is being introduced (check gov.gr). Breath-hold only (no scuba), a mandatory «Υ.Δ.» buoy, 16+, daytime only, and the whole of May is closed. Note: the Zakynthos (Laganas) marine park in this region restricts/bans spearfishing — check the zone boundaries. See the guide.
Which fish can you spear in Lefkada?
The species cards list 19 species with real presence in this basin; the strongest here are dusky grouper, common dentex, white seabream, gilthead seabream, European seabass and leerfish / garrick. Minimum sizes in Greece are NATIONAL, not local: dusky grouper 45 cm · white seabream 23 cm · gilthead seabream 20 cm · European seabass 25 cm · wreckfish / stone bass 45 cm · red porgy 18 cm · striped seabream 20 cm · common octopus 750 g. Species with no EU size carry the 150 g floor only. Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day, not banned (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2).
Is spearfishing banned in May in Lefkada?
Yes. May is a TOTAL spearfishing ban for the whole month, every year, across Greece (ΠΔ 373/1985, art. 3§1α) — so in Lefkada too. It is law in force, not a draft, and there is no local exemption. Plan June to April.
How many kilos of fish may I keep per day in Lefkada?
✓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).
The daily limit is 5 kg, or one trophy heavier than the limit (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 2§2). Grouper (Epinephelus) — max 1/day. Every fish must be at least 150 g (art. 3§2στ), and selling a recreational catch is prohibited (art. 1§7). The limit is national — in Lefkada it is the same as everywhere in Greece.
Can I spearfish on scuba in Lefkada?
No. Freediving only: scuba and any air-supply apparatus are banned — they may not even be carried aboard (ΠΔ 373/85, art. 3§2γ). In Lefkada the rest of the national frame applies too: 16+, daytime only, ≥200 m from bathers, harbours, moored vessels and marked nets, and a mandatory «Υ.Δ.» buoy you stay within 50 m of. Pneumatic and band guns are allowed; only powerheads are banned.
Portugal
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