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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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.
Epinephelus marginatus · 8–40 m · ⛔ closed 1 Jul–31 Aug
Kirnja (grouper): spearfishing for grouper is closed 1 Jul–31 Aug. A vulnerable, slow-growing fish — please release it. National daily limit 5 kg.
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · 0–15 m
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · 0–12 m
striped seabream
Lithognathus mormyrus · 2–20 m
Law
✓Speargun fishing is allowed ONLY with the SPORT sea-fishing licence (dozvola za športski ribolov na moru) — the ordinary does NOT cover it; tourists are eligible. 2026 fees: 1-day €10 / 3-day €25 / 7-day €45 / annual €79.63, plus mandatory HSSRM membership €10. Buy the day/multi-day online at ribarstvo.mps.hr; the annual is issued via HSSRM/clubs.
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.
✓Breath-hold only, from age 16, and daylight only — from sunset to sunrise speargun fishing is prohibited; in the water you must be marked at the surface (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 31.).
✓Kirnje (Epinephelus spp., Polyprion americanus, Mycteroperca rubra): closed 1 Jul–31 Aug (Pravilnik NN 64/2023, čl. 5.); outside that season, at most 1 specimen for the whole group (Pravilnik NN 48/2026, čl. 11.). The general daily bag is 5 kg per fisher (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 33.). A vulnerable, slow-growing fish — release when in doubt.
✓Marking in the water: an orange or red buoy at least 30 cm across at the centre of the dive area — or a diver's flag (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 31., which sends you to Pravilnik NN 47/99, čl. 4.). There is NO national «10-litre buoy» rule: it lives inside PP Lastovsko otočje (NN 154/2009, čl. 34.) — and that is where, and only where, the two-speargun limit applies too.
✓Sport and recreational catch may not be placed on the market — selling it is prohibited (Pravilnik NN 48/2026, čl. 8.).
✓Towing the fisher behind a vessel and using an underwater scooter are both prohibited while spearfishing (Pravilnik NN 48/2026, čl. 9.).
✓Per-piece caps on top of the five kilos: octopus — 2, Eunice roussaei — 2, all Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) — 0. Kept fish of the 23 listed species must be marked immediately by cutting off the lower lobe of the caudal fin, and cephalopods by a deep incision between the eyes (Pravilnik NN 48/2026, čl. 11.). The five-kilo day itself is set by the act (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 33.).
✓Aquaculture: no fishing of any kind on a farm or within 300 m of the mark showing its position (50 m for shellfish-growing areas), or of the concession boundary (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 14., in the NN 14/2024 redaction).
✓Inside a national park, a special marine reserve or a nature park you need a SEPARATE permit from the managing public institution on top of the state licence; the nature-protection ministry may also close fishing there outright (Pravilnik NN 48/2026, čl. 13.). In waters under a special management regime the limits of the acts that establish that regime apply (Pravilnik NN 125/2020, čl. 2.).
✓One national minimum-size table: dentex 30 cm, brown meagre 30 cm, scorpionfish 25 cm, white seabream 23 cm, gilthead 20 cm, amberjack 35 cm, dorado 35 cm, octopus 1 kg (Pravilnik NN 64/2023, čl. 3.). Dorado (Coryphaena hippurus) is closed to sport and recreational fishing from 1 January to 14 August (NN 134/2024, čl. 2.). Bluefin and albacore tuna, swordfish, eel, large crustaceans, corals and sponges — do not take them at all (ZOMR NN 62/17, čl. 32., in the NN 14/2024 redaction).
⛔ Fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) — strictly protected, taking/disturbing prohibited (mass die-off from a pathogen).
⛔ Date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) — harvesting strictly banned (destroys the reef).
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and monk seal (Monachus monachus) — protected, taking/disturbing prohibited.
Rules change and fees/seasons are updated yearly. Before heading out, check the Ministry of Agriculture fisheries portal (ribarstvo.mps.hr) and get the SPORT licence (the annual via HSSRM/a club); a speargun without it is illegal.
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 · Saplunara (Mljet)
Spearfishing in Saplunara (Mljet): spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Saplunara is a legality-first Mljet plan. The first spot is explicitly the outer points outside NP, so do not frame the National Park as a spearfishing target. The local rows are sandy-rock points for gilthead bream and sea bass, the north point by Mali Školj for white seabream and amberjack, and the south wall by Rt Maslinova for dentex and white seabream. Access and numeric depths are not described. All three rows are medium with a yellow safety rating.
TL;DR
Saplunara’s plan stays on outer points outside NP; do not turn Mljet National Park into a hunting area.
The three rows are sandy-rock points, the north point by Mali Školj and the south wall by Rt Maslinova.
The bad sector is 75-195 degrees, with the worst direction around 135 degrees, and no webcam is listed.
What are the Saplunara spearfishing spots?
Keep the boundary clear: the first row is outside NP. The other two rows split north point and south wall terrain around Saplunara.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Saplunara – vanjske točke (izvan NP)
Sandy-rock points
No numeric depth
Medium; yellow safety rating
Not described
Gilthead bream and sea bass. Keep the plan outside NP unless local official rules say otherwise.
Saplunara (Mljet) – sjeverni rt
North point by Mali Školj
No numeric depth
Medium; yellow safety rating
Not described
White seabream and amberjack on the north-point profile.
Saplunara (Mljet) – južna stijena
South rock wall by Rt Maslinova
No numeric depth
Medium; yellow safety rating
Not described
Dentex and white seabream. This row is more exposed to the local bad sector.
What conditions and rules shape Saplunara?
The local aspect is about 150 degrees, with a bad sector of 75-195 degrees and the worst direction near 135 degrees. No webcam, river plume or nearby buoy is listed, so shore checks matter. Under NN 48/2026, Croatia requires the sport sea-fishing licence for spearguns; the ordinary recreational licence does not cover them. Spearfishing is breath-hold only, daylight only, age 16+, with a marker buoy and no more than two spearguns per diver. Protected species such as fan mussel, date mussel, seahorses, loggerhead turtle and monk seal must not be taken or disturbed.
FAQ
Is this a National Park spearfishing plan?
No. The first row is explicitly outer points outside NP, and do not extend the plan into the park.
What fish are on the outer points?
Gilthead bream and sea bass are listed for the sandy-rock points.
Are webcams listed?
No. No Saplunara webcam is listed.
What is the worst direction?
Around 135 degrees, inside the 75-195 degree bad sector.
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