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 13:52
Monemvasia — 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.
Come at first light: before eight the throat is empty, then the tavernas wake up, the fishing caiques go out, and in summer the pedal boats are rolled into the water. The working season is June to October, with the steadiest water in September. May is closed nationwide and night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
Here the level finally means something — not by itself, but because a lagoon sits behind the corridor. Water changes through the throat, and there is always a pull one way or the other; after rain a brown murky tongue comes out of it, so it can be clear outside and a metre of visibility at the entrance. Watch which way the surface litter drifts.
shelter
Gerakas is a drowned valley: the sea runs inland as a corridor between rock walls, and inside the water barely moves. The spot sits outside already, by the throat, so the only thing screening it from the open sea is the northern side of the entrance. In a northerly you sit quietly under it; in an easterly the throat takes everything.
conditions
Come with north or north-west — outside it stays flat and the water at the entrance is clear. East and south-east drive the wave straight into the corridor, it bounces off the walls and comes back: at the throat you get chop from two sides and you can neither lie still nor surface calmly. One hundred thirty-five degrees is the worst of it.
hazard
At the head of the inlet lies a Natura 2000 wetland: stay out of the lagoon and the shallow flats, birds nest there and fry stand there, and there should be no hunting in it. Second: the throat is the only way in and out for every boat in the village, they run down the middle and will not see you. Hug the walls, buoy visible, two hundred metres off the jetty.
access
It is a bit over twenty kilometres north of Monemvasia; the road drops along the water and ends at the jetty — nothing goes past it. Park on the verge by the water short of the village and get in off the rock on the outer side of the throat. From there it is five to ten minutes of swimming to the outer rocks; by boat, a minute.
Fjord-like rocky inlet 0–20 m, shore; Natura 2000 wetland, do not disturb the lagoon.
An early start buys you two things: flat water and an empty bay before the dive groups arrive — this site is well known and busy in summer. The season is June to October, and in September and October the water is softer and there are fewer boats. May is closed across Greece, night is banned, and a torch is not allowed even by day.
tide
Level counts for nothing here. What counts is that the bottom is shallow and sandy: after wind the suspended sand hangs another day, so there is no point going the day after a blow. And the swim out on a heading of about one hundred forty-five degrees crosses open water — a weak drift takes you off the line, so check the compass, not the shore.
shelter
The wreck lies in the bay of Agia Marina, north-east of Cape Zovolo: the cape shuts the bay off from the south-west, while the east side is open. The shore here is low and rocky with nothing to kill the wave except fetch. In a northerly the bay is quiet; in a south-easterly it is blown right through.
conditions
The hull lies on its side, starting at about two metres, with the deepest part around twelve. At that depth any swell ruins it: the sun goes straight through and the picture is only good on flat water. On top of that the wreck needs a long surface swim, and a headwind with chop turns that swim into work. A northerly day is yours.
hazard
Boats cross the bay constantly and you spend two hundred metres and more floating on the surface — a buoy is mandatory, fly it high. Neapoli next door is a working port with ferries to Kythira and Elafonisos: two hundred metres off the quays, stay out of the fairway. Fifteen kilometres north-west lies Pavlopetri, a declared underwater monument where the gun is banned.
access
The track down to the bay is dirt: in a normal car leave it on the flat area about a hundred metres higher and walk down the path with your gear. You get in on steps cut into the rock in the left opening of the shoreline, with about two and a half metres straight under them, so enter carefully. Then two hundred metres and more on the surface to the stern.
Modern wreck (sank 1978), 30 m hull, 3–12 m, shore-swim; free, beginner-friendly, 100 m offshore.
Morning: while the sun is low the wall is in shade and the fish stand higher on the ledges; by midday they drop away. The season is June to October, with September and October the steadiest. May is closed outright. Night is banned. And keep the daily limit in mind: one grouper, five kilos in total.
tide
There is effectively no level to read, but along the rock ribs, after a long blow, there is a real pull — stronger deep than at the surface, and the buoy will not show it. Check it on the first dive: if twenty metres down you are being carried off the mark, do not push along the wall, work off a rib you know.
shelter
North of the village the shore changes character: instead of the pebble arc you get rock slabs and ribs stepping down under water. The cape that closes the bay from the north throws a lee in a northerly, and you can work under it while it whistles above. In an easterly or south-easterly there is no lee anywhere.
conditions
Five to twenty-five metres holds clarity better than the beach: even when it is milky over the sand, you can still see on the slabs. But with a south-easterly the wave starts hitting the wall, the ledges jerk you up and down, and you can neither hold at the rock nor climb out cleanly. On those days go round the cape.
hazard
It goes deep straight off the wall and there is nothing to hold: work with a partner and do not get greedy on the way up, under the slabs there is no bottom to land on. Stay out of overhangs and grottoes — underwater they are a trap, and on this coast they also shelter seals. Village boats set gear here; give marked nets two hundred metres.
access
The easy way is from the water: one or two minutes by boat from the Paralia jetty to these slabs, and no landing needed. On foot works too — a beaten path runs north out of the village for about a kilometre and a half and comes out at the rocks people jump from. No water and no shade there, you carry everything.
Coral-like reef 5–25 m, short boat hop; wall/reef N of town.
Set off before dawn: the sun comes up straight out of the sea in front of the entry, and that first hour of light is the working one, after which people arrive on the beach. The season runs June to October, with September the best water. May is closed across Greece. Night is banned, and the road up is nasty in the dark anyway.
tide
Tide decides nothing here; the level moves a finger's width. What really counts is water off the mountain: after rain the gullies wash gravel and murk into the arc and it hangs by the shore for a day. Along the outer rocks, after a long blow, a weak along-shore drift runs — plan your approach with it.
shelter
The Kyparissi shore is where Parnon breaks straight into the Myrtoan Sea: the village sits in a shallow arc, closed to the south by the hill with the ruins and to the north by rock ribs. The arc opens east, and there is nothing out to the horizon. With north and north-west the water under those ribs sits still.
conditions
Your day is north or north-west: it comes down off the mountain and irons the water in the arc. East and south-east, the whole sector from eighty to two hundred, put the wave straight onto the beach and the sand and gravel go up as murk: at fifteen metres you can still see, right at the entry you cannot.
hazard
This is monk seal and turtle shore: if you see one, back off, do not chase it and do not film it up close. Caves and cracks under the rocks can be haul-outs, so stay out of them. In summer families swim on the sand — keep your two hundred metres. Village skiffs run close in; keep the buoy visible and stay within fifty metres of it.
access
There is one road in and it is long: four hours from Athens, two from Sparta, the last stretch a set of hairpins on the flank of Parnon. You drop the car right by the water in Paralia and get in over fine black and white pebble, an easy entry. Sand and reef start a couple of minutes out. No dive centre in the village; the nearest is in Neapoli.
Reef and sand 0–15 m, shore; grouper. Monk-seal/turtle zone, do not disturb.
Work at first light, before the tourist boats start going round the rock and the day breeze gets up. The working season is June to October, and September and October are the best of it: warm water, fewer people. All of May is closed in Greece, and night is banned, sunset to sunrise.
tide
The level moves twenty or thirty centimetres here, so there is nothing to plan around it. What counts is different: a steady flow runs around the tip of the rock and stiffens after a few days of wind, and the sheer wall throws the swell back, so on that rebound you get dragged along the stone.
shelter
The Monemvasia rock is a separate mass tied to the mainland by a causeway, and its base looks east and south-east into open sea. The only shelter is the rock itself: with a northerly the water under the cliff on the lee side sits flat. With south and south-east there is nothing to hide behind.
conditions
Come with north and north-west: the wind passes over the top of the rock and lays the water along the base. East and south-east, from eighty to two hundred degrees, shut the place down, and one hundred thirty-five is the worst of all: the wave hits the boulders, sand turns over near the bottom and visibility drops to two or three metres.
hazard
About a kilometre and a half west of the rock sits a hundred-metre circle closed by decision 14/2020 of the Neapoli Vion port authority: everything is banned inside — navigation and anchoring, swimming, fishing, diving. From the water you drift into it unnoticed, so watch your position. Two war wrecks nearby carry dive boats: no shooting over wreckage.
access
You leave the car in Gefyra on the mainland side and walk the causeway. Entry is over slabs and boulders under the fortress walls — boots are a must, the wet stone is slick. From there you work along the base; there is no long swim, the reef starts right away. The nearest dive base is in Neapoli, about an hour by car.
Rocky base and reef 0–20 m, shore; exposed on a S/E wind.
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
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
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
Mediterranean parrotfish
Sparisoma cretense · 2–20 m · min 150 g
Eastern-Med delicacy (Crete/Dodecanese). No EU size — the 150 g minimum only.
devil firefish (lionfish)
Pterois miles · 5–40 m · invasive
⚠️ Invasive — removal encouraged, excellent flesh. Venomous spines: never grab bare-handed, cut the spines, treat a sting with hot water (>45 °C).
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 Monemvasia
Where can I spearfish in Monemvasia?
Monemvasia has rock entry points such as Monemvasia Castle rocks, Kyparissi – Megali Ammos and Kyparissi – 1st Skali. Exposed SE Laconian castle-rock coast, clear blue water and quick rocky drops: dentex, grouper, amberjack and sea bream. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Monemvasia?
Long season, June to October (May closed nationally), peaking in summer; the west and east coasts give a lee for most winds.
How cold is the water in Monemvasia?
Clear, warm mediterranean water, tideless; the Ionian west is a touch greener, the Aegean east bright blue.
Is Monemvasia good for a beginner?
Mostly easy to moderate: pick the coast sheltered from the day's wind and you'll find calm, clear rock all summer.
Do I need a licence in Monemvasia?
No paid licence is needed in Monemvasia — 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. See the guide.
Which fish can you spear in Monemvasia?
The species cards list 21 species with real presence in this basin; the strongest here are common dentex, white seabream, gilthead seabream, European seabass, common octopus and dusky grouper. Minimum sizes in Greece are NATIONAL, not local: white seabream 23 cm · gilthead seabream 20 cm · European seabass 25 cm · dusky grouper 45 cm · red porgy 18 cm · striped seabream 20 cm · brown meagre / corb 25 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 Monemvasia?
Yes. May is a TOTAL spearfishing ban for the whole month, every year, across Greece (ΠΔ 373/1985, art. 3§1α) — so in Monemvasia 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 Monemvasia?
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 Monemvasia it is the same as everywhere in Greece.
✓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).
Can I spearfish on scuba in Monemvasia?
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 Monemvasia 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.
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