Mtwara (Mikindani) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

spearo.app / Tanzania / Mtwara (Mikindani)
PTPortuguêsRUРусскийESEspañolITItalianoELΕλληνικάFRFrançaisTRTürkçeHRHrvatski
Forecast refreshing in the background — reload the page in a minute for the latest read.
◈Mtwara (Mikindani) · Tanzania
5.3
wave 0.7 m head-on
visibility~4m

Marginal

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 18:22

Sources & confidence

Sources
Open-Meteo · Copernicus
Method
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.

Entry pointsNo-take zones

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.

Coming soon

Get the go / no-go verdict for Mtwara (Mikindani) by email

Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Mtwara (Mikindani), we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.

Optional: city, channel, phone
What to send
Where to send it
More spots

Spots in Tanzania

🇹🇿Tanzania

Tanzania map →

Nearby towns

  • Kilwa Masoko
  • Mafia Island (Kilindoni)
  • Pemba (Mozambique)
  • Dar es Salaam
  • Kizimkazi (Zanzibar)

Zanzibar (Unguja)

  • Jambiani (Zanzibar)
  • Bwejuu (Zanzibar)
  • Stone Town (Zanzibar)
  • Matemwe (Zanzibar)
  • Nungwi (Zanzibar)

Northern coast (Tanga–Bagamoyo)

  • Bagamoyo
  • Pangani
  • Tanga

Pemba Island

  • Chake-Chake (Pemba Island)

spearo.app — All countries

Feedback

Help us make it better

What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.

spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Mtwara (Mikindani) · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Download on theApp Store
GET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
updated 18:22
Mtwara (Mikindani) — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind 16 km/h
wave 0.7 m head-onwind 16 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~4 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 4 m · Water 27.9°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Best window · next 3 days
borderlinetoday · 15:00–18:00
you can see ~5 m ahead fish

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

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.

Tuesday · today2026-10-13
05:56–18:14 · waxing crescent
▲ 05:00▼ 11:00▲ 17:00▼ 23:00mid-range tides · 3.5 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.93 m
Wave0.98 m
Wind12 km/h
Water28 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 01:40 · high · moonrise 07:38 · moderate · moon overhead 14:10 · high · moonset 20:39 · moderate
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.74 m · slightperiod 6.2 swind 7→16surge 2.4viz 5 m
0.74 mslight · up to ~1.48 · 76° at an angle
6.2 sswell moderate
7→16gusts 16 km/h
2.4pounding the rocks
0.11m/s
5 mrecent swell
27.5°C5 mm + hood
▼11:00tide falling
Atmosphere13 kmprecip 0.1 mm
moderatemoonrise
  • calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal
  • forecast models disagree (on wave) — lower confidence in this window
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →

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

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — 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: 3016 spots across 406 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

No verified spots here yet

The forecast is calculated for the shore next to the town.

Mainland Tanzania: an operator reports that speargun fishing is banned under the Fisheries Act 2003 and its 2009 Regulations; the act itself could not be read, so this is unconfirmed. Check with the Fisheries Division. Night rules not verified. No hunting: Mnazi Bay–Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (approx. boundary).

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
Google Play — QR code
point your camera
≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now
  • no targets this month
Law

    Tanzania: operators report that speargun fishing is banned on the mainland (Fisheries Act 2003 / Regulations 2009) and that Zanzibar issues sport-spearfishing licences only through registered operators. The acts could not be read — treat this as unconfirmed and check with the Fisheries Division. Marine parks and reserves are closed to hunting. Night rules not verified.

    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 Mtwara (Mikindani)

    Where can I spearfish in Mtwara (Mikindani)?

    Mtwara and Mikindani are the base for Mnazi Bay–Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park near Msimbati; no reef positions were found, so there are no marks. Check today's forecast above and pick a calm-sea day, always with a marker buoy.

    When is the best season in Mtwara (Mikindani)?

    October–March; on Mafia the dive centres run one shore dive a day because of the tides.

    How cold is the water in Mtwara (Mikindani)?

    Rufiji and Ruvuma river plumes after rain.

    Is Mtwara (Mikindani) good for a beginner?

    Mafia Island Marine Park bans spearguns (GN 129/2006); Mtwara is near the Ruvuma border — check travel advice.

    Do I need a licence in Mtwara (Mikindani)?

    Mtwara (Mikindani): Tanzania: operators report that speargun fishing is banned on the mainland (Fisheries Act 2003 / Regulations 2009) and that Zanzibar issues sport-spearfishing licences only through registered operators. The acts could not be read — treat this as unconfirmed and check with the Fisheries Division. Marine parks and reserves are closed to hunting. Night rules not verified.

    Data partners
    dive centres that send us real visibility readings
    Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres