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

Nazaré · Portugal
5.3
wave 0.8 m head-on
visibility4m

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

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 01:32

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.

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0 m

Surface

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

spearo.app
calmupdated 01:32
Nazaré — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · cross sea from several directions
wave 0.8 m head-onwind 4 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~5 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 5 m · Water 21.4°C
confidence medium · verdict for the selected day
Before entering, check the camera and the surge
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.

Thursday · today2026-07-23
06:27–20:57 · first quarter
▼ 04:00▲ 10:00▼ 17:00▲ 23:00 · 1.1 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.11 m
Wave0.84 m
Wind6 km/h
Water22 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:09 · moderate · moon underfoot 08:40 · high · moonrise 16:24 · moderate · moon overhead 21:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish ·
Hs 0.82 mperiod 5.8 s head-onwind 4→9surge 2viz 4 m
0.82 mup to ~1.64 · 333° head-on
5.8 sswell moderate
4→9gusts 9 km/h
2noticeable surge
0.11m/s
4 mrecent swell
21.4°C5 mm + hood
▲10:00tide rising
Atmosphere20 kmlandmarks visible
highmoon underfoot
  • cross sea from several directions
  • flood — water rising
confidence mediumtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points

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

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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
Nazaré shelter harbour (south breakwater)Fishing harbour / south breakwater · Porto de Abrigo da Nazaré (molhe sul)
dangerous
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
Early morning before the fleet leaves and before the sea breeze; summer gives the clearest water.
tide
Best near high tide — more water over the breakwater rock and a cleaner entry.
shelter
The two breakwaters and the harbour's position ~2 km south of the Pontal cape shelter it from the dominant NW swell; water inside/beside the south mole settles when the open coast is blown out.
hazard
Active fishing harbour — heavy boat traffic at the mouth (entrance only 100 m wide); stay on the outer face of the south mole, fly a float, never cross the channel.
access
Drive the harbour road south of town, park by the port, scramble down to the rocks on the mole's outer face.

The most sheltered rocky structure in Nazaré, but it is a working port — only enter clear of the vessel manoeuvring zone. ⚠️ Real fishing harbour (entrance 100m wide, S breakwater ~400m - both confirmed). But coord 39.587,-9.0725 is on the LANDWARD north side of the basin (reverse-geocodes to Avenida Manuel Remigio parking, ~145m from inner quay, ~1.3km from the actual molhe sul outer face). Corrected to the south breakwater seaward face. Hazard is downplayed: spearfishing is LEGALLY BANNED here - Portaria 144/2009 prohibits it within 100m of harbour access and inside the delimited port area. Text presents it as a divable spot with only a boat-traffic caution; it should say spearfishing in/around the harbour is illegal.

Google Maps
Pedra do Guilhim (Sítio cliffs)Sítio promontory / exposed rock
dangerous
swell on the quarter today
window
Only in the calmest summer, early morning before the sea breeze; never on an NW system.
tide
High tide covers the exit rocks deeper; at low tide bare rocks and shorebreak are more dangerous.
shelter
Almost no shelter — the rock faces the open Atlantic below the Sítio cliffs; only protected in rare flat calms with offshore wind.
hazard
The Nazaré Canyon brings deep water right to shore and amplifies swell up to 3x: the sea can grow in minutes, and a rock exit through shorebreak is a lethal entrapment risk. Scouting from land is mandatory.
access
Via the path/stairs ("Escadas para a Pedra do Guilhim") from the Sítio down to the rock; steep cliff descent.

Scout from land first; a known rock "beaten by waves directly in front" — solo is almost always a no.

Google Maps
Nazaré town beach (sheltered bay)Town beach / sheltered bay · Praia da Nazaré (town bay)
closed
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
Summer, early morning before the crowds; the beach is packed in season.
tide
Any tide; low tide exposes more of the sand flat.
shelter
The SW-facing town bay is shadowed by the São Miguel/Pontal headland from direct NW swell — the calmest water in Nazaré.
hazard
Swimming beach — hunting banned; many swimmers in summer; even here the Canyon swell can build suddenly.
access
Walk straight in over the sand from the town promenade — the easiest access on this coast.

Not a spearing spot (sand + ban), but the only reliably calm water — a reference for judging conditions.

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

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↗
Nazaré — Praia do Norte (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Praia do Norte (Nazaré, the big-wave beach). Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
connecting to the stream…
● LIVE↗
Nazaré — Forte de São Miguel (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Forte de São Miguel (Nazaré). Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
connecting to the stream…
● LIVE↗
Nazaré — south-west view (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Nazaré, south-west view. Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
connecting to the stream…
● LIVE↗
Nazaré — beach / coast (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Nazaré beach/coast. Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Meagre, Mullet · coming soon: Octopus (Sep)

In season now
  • Robalo (sea bass)
    <4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
    Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
  • Sargo (white seabream)
    1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
    Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
  • Dourada (gilthead bream)
    1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
    Very skittish — static ambush.
  • Salema
    0–2 m · — · daytime
    Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
  • Tainha (mullet)
    0–2 m · — · —
    Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
  • Corvina (meagre)
    1–6 m (marginal) · — · twilight
    Near the Tagus mouth, NOT on the Guincho rocks. Adults mostly at 5–75 m. ⚠️ CLOSED 1–30 June (defeso).
  • Santola (spider crab)
    1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
    Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
  • ✓Spearfishing licence required (16+), daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required.
  • ✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required.
  • ✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only.
  • ✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver.
  • ✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg.
  • ✓Invertebrates (including spider crab) — 2 kg/day total.
  • ✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too.
  • ✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g.
  • ✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken.
  • ⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
  • ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.

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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
  • Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
  • Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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 · Nazaré

Spearfishing in Nazaré: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing in Nazaré is one of the hardest cases on Portugal's central coast. The submarine canyon offshore focuses and amplifies the west swell right at the rock, and the sea can grow in minutes. You only get in on rare calm windows, with groundswell under half a metre and a light offshore wind, mostly in spring and summer when visibility opens. The town bay is the one calm patch of water, but it is sand and a swimming beach. A licence is required and only freediving is allowed.

TL;DR

  • The Nazaré submarine canyon focuses and amplifies the west swell right at the shore, so you can only spearfish on the rare, genuinely calm days.
  • There is no reliable hunting spot: the town bay is sand and a swimming beach, spearfishing in the harbour is banned by law, and Pedra do Guilhim at the Sítio is a land-scout only.
  • National rules: licence required, freediving only, mandatory signal float, minimum sizes and catch limits to confirm with DGRM and the Capitania.

Where can you spearfish in Nazaré?

Nazaré has no reliable spearfishing spot. The rock that holds fish sits on the Sítio headland and the reefs to the south, but the canyon drives deep water to the shore and seals almost every window. Pedra do Guilhim, below the Sítio cliffs, is a land-scout only: the Nazaré canyon amplifies swell up to three times, the sea can grow in minutes, and a rock exit through the shorebreak is a lethal entrapment risk. In the harbour, spearfishing is banned by law, inside the port area and within 100 m of the harbour access, and the 100 m wide mouth carries heavy boat traffic. The town bay is the calmest water, but it is sand and a swimming beach where hunting is banned, so it only serves to read the conditions.

How are the sea conditions in Nazaré today?

Conditions rule everything here, more than the tide. The canyon focuses the west swell, so a day only opens with groundswell under half a metre and a light offshore wind; any west or northwest swell shuts the coast. The better windows are spring and early summer, when the sea settles. Watch the nortada: the same northwest wind that washes the low platforms also drives upwelling and drops the water temperature. On the tide, the end of the ebb into the start of the flood is the better phase for bass near the rock, while seabream feed on the flood. Before you get in, check the swell on the Praia da Vila and Porto de Abrigo webcams.

When is the best time to spearfish in Nazaré, and what can you catch?

There is no fixed local season by the month: what counts is the rare, genuinely calm days, more frequent from late spring through summer, when calmer sea and clearer water line up. The species are the national ones, not Nazaré rules. Sea bass, minimum 36 cm, is the prize target, shy of light and best at dawn from June to October. White seabream, minimum 17 cm, is the most consistent reef fish from April to September; then gilthead bream, black seabream, salema and, in autumn, octopus. Meagre has a national closed season from 1 to 30 June, and grouper is fully protected. Nazaré is not a place to learn solo: for a first outing pick a flat day and a more sheltered coast.

FAQ

Do I need a license to spearfish in Nazaré?

Yes. A spearfishing licence is required from age 16, for residents and visitors alike, available daily, monthly or annually at around 25 euros a year, and hunting is only allowed on breath-hold. Scuba spearfishing is banned. Check the current licence on the DGRM site before you go.

What is the minimum size for sea bass in Portugal?

The minimum landing size for sea bass is 36 cm nationwide. Other minimums include white seabream 17 cm, gilthead bream 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm and meagre 42 cm; octopus is regulated by weight, minimum 750 g.

Is night spearfishing allowed in Portugal?

No. Spearfishing is only allowed in daylight, between sunrise and sunset. Using artificial light to find or attract fish is prohibited; a torch is for safety only.

What is the catch limit for spearfishing in Portugal?

The daily spearfishing limit is 15 kg of fish and cephalopods per person, excluding the single largest specimen. Invertebrates, including spider crab, count under a separate 2 kg daily cap; spider crab has a closed season from 15 February to 15 June.

How far from the beach can you spearfish in Portugal?

You may not spearfish inside delimited bathing zones or near harbour access. At Nazaré, spearfishing is banned inside the port area and within 100 m of the harbour access. Your mandatory signal float must stay within 30 m of you; confirm exact limits with the local Capitania.

Sources

Region: Centre

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