Mejillones spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Mejillones · Chile
5.3
wave 1.2 m
visibility3m

Today — right on the edgewave, wind and noticeable surge.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicushigh confidence · data 13:13

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
Method
Model consensus, read per window
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine

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.

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.
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.

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.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
calmupdated 13:13
Mejillones — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.2 m + swell period 7 s
wave 1.2 mwind 18 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~4 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 4 m · Water 18.1°C
confidence medium · verdict for the selected day
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22
07:2018:16 · first quarter
04:00 10:00 15:00 22:00 · 0.7 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.13 m
Wave1.34 m
Wind8 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:31 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:10 · high · moonrise 12:42 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 1.24 mperiod 7.2 swind 18→22surge 1.7viz 3 m
1.24 mup to ~2.48 · 248° at an angle
7.2 sswell moderate
18→22gusts 22 km/h
1.7noticeable surge
0.19m/s
3 mrecent swell
18.1°C5 mm + hood
▲15:00tide turn near
Atmosphere3 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
  • wave 1.2 m + swell period 7 s
  • steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
  • flood toward high water
confidence mediumday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.

Entry points

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map
Bahía de MejillonesMejillones
borderline
swell on the quarter today
window
tide
shelter
hazard
access

North-facing bay, rock+sand 0–12 m, shore; best SW shelter in the north. Coords approx.

Google Maps

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.

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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…
● LIVE
Mejillones — bahía (MarejadasUV)YouTube live — Mejillones — bahía (MarejadasUV). Embedded live stream; if the ID rotates it opens the source page. Read the water before you go.camera: youtube
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • Chilean sandperch (vieja)
    Graus nigra · 3–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Limit 1 fish/day, no minimum size. Heavily speared — better to release.
  • Chilean sheephead
    Semicossyphus darwini · 3–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Limit 1 fish/day, no minimum size. Heavily speared — better to release.
  • Peruvian grunt
    Anisotremus scapularis · 1–20 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Chilean sandperch (rollizo)
    Pinguipes chilensis · 2–30 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Peruvian morwong
    Cheilodactylus variegatus · 1–25 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • Lorna drum
    Sciaena deliciosa · 2–25 m · legal
    Limit 5 fish/day (overall cap ≤10/jornada). No minimum size.
  • snoek
    Thyrsites atun · 0–30 m · legal
  • yellowtail amberjack
    Seriola lalandi · 3–40 m · legal
  • corvina drum
    Cilus gilberti · 2–30 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Biological closure 1 Oct–30 Nov. Min 40 cm (TL), limit 3/day.
  • palm ruff
    Seriolella violacea · 3–40 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
    ⚠️ Closed 1–31 Aug. Min 30 cm (Atacama–Coquimbo).
  • Chilean jack mackerel
    Trachurus murphyi · 0–40 m · legal
  • jerguilla
    Aplodactylus punctatus · 1–20 m · legal
  • apañado
    Hemilutjanus macrophthalmos · 5–40 m · legal
  • rock bass
    Paralabrax humeralis · 3–30 m · legal
  • flounder
    Paralichthys sp. · 2–30 m · legal
  • elephant fish
    Callorhinchus callorhynchus · 5–40 m · ⚠️ release
    Mandatory release (catch-and-release). Do not keep.
  • humpback smoothhound
    Mustelus whitneyi · 5–40 m · ⚠️ release
    Mandatory release (catch-and-release). Do not keep.
  • Chilean abalone (loco)
    Concholepas concholepas · 1–20 m · 🚫 no-take
    🚫 Permanent extraction ban to 31 Dec 2028 (Arica→Aysén). Benthos — by hand by the AMERB org, not speargun; no recreational take.
Law
  • 🚫 Loco (Concholepas) — permanent ban to 31 Dec 2028 (Arica→Aysén). Only by hand by the AMERB org; outsiders/recreational barred.
  • Elephant fish (Callorhinchus) and smoothhounds (Mustelus) — mandatory release. Don't shoot.
  • AMERB areas (hundreds of polygons): benthos (loco/lapa/erizo) — exclusive to fisher orgs, don't take; fish by speargun — grey zone, check locally.
  • Marine mammals, sea turtles, penguins — protected; do not touch.
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 · Mejillones

Spearfishing in Mejillones: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Mejillones is a bay plan built around southwest shelter. The listed mark mixes rock and sand in 0-12 m and can stay calmer than open northern coast. Read the bay mouth, boats and current before entering. Shelter does not change the licence, RAV or loco closure. North to northeast wind or swell removes the advantage fast.

TL;DR

  • The bay shelters from southwest energy; north-sector weather is the weakness.
  • Use the Mejillones camera to read lines inside the bay.
  • Shelter does not change the licence, closed loco or AMERB benthos rules.

Where can you spearfish in Mejillones?

Bahia de Mejillones is the article: shallow rock and sand with useful southwest shelter and a clear north-sector weakness.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
Bahía de MejillonesRock and sand bay0-12 mAccessible to intermediateShore entryNorth-facing bay, rock+sand 0-12 m, shore; best SW shelter in the north. Coords approx. Check the exit.

When does Mejillones bay work?

It works when southwest energy is outside but the bay interior stays lined down. It fails when the mouth receives north or northeast wind and swell. A SERNAPESCA recreational licence is required; Chile covers spearfishing through sport diving, apnea and spearguns. RAV closures for conger and corvina, the recreational loco closure and AMERB benthos restrictions all remain active. Avoid drifting across the bay mouth when wind begins to build. Bahia de Mejillones opens north and the peninsula blocks the big SW swell, giving flat-sea windows when nearby open coast is blown out. Use the shelter without letting it hide changing wind. The listed spot is shore-access rock and sand in 0-12 m, with vieja and rollizo in good visibility. It is still Humboldt water, so a 5 mm suit remains the baseline. The weak sector is from 300 to 40 degrees, with the worst direction around 340. When that signal appears inside the bay, choose the short exit over one more pass. Mejillones has one listed webcam and no buoy. Confirm the water from shore, then keep the route inside the bay that the fact pattern actually describes. The city record marks the bay as sheltered and upwelling-influenced, not tropical. Treat the good visibility and protected shape as timing tools, then exit before the north-facing exposure becomes the main force.

FAQ

Why choose the bay?

Southwest shelter.

What is the weak direction?

North to northeast.

Is a webcam listed?

Yes, a bay camera.

How deep is it?

0-12 m.

What else matters?

Boats and current inside the bay.

Sources

Nearby towns

Coming soon

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