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.
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
no dataupdated 12:06
Exposed coast — O Grove west coast — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 2.3 m (occasionally up to ~4.6 m)
wave 2.3 m head-onwind 14, gusts 27 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
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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: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
A Lanzada (lado O Grove)Exposed coast — O Grove west coast
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today (city-level)
window
The lawful days are set by Orden 17.09.2009, article 13.2: Saturday, Sunday and public holidays for most of the year, plus the whole week from Maundy Thursday to Easter and between May and September. On a beach, also go at dawn: bass feed in low light and in summer this fills with people.
tide
With 3.4 m of range on springs the waterline shifts enormously: at low tide sandbars appear with channels between them, and water pours out through those channels on the ebb. That flow is comfortable to drift with and very uncomfortable to swim back against, so go in on the flood.
shelter
A Lanzada is a long sandy stretch wide open to the west-southwest with nothing in front of it: in the 220–305° sector it breaks from end to end, and at 285° there is no corner left to hide in. Only at the rocky end, tight against the stones, is there workable water when the wind swings south.
conditions
The bottom is sand with patches of stone, so visibility depends on the day before: with a flat sea you get four or five metres, and with any leftover swell it turns milky. The sea bass come into exactly that dirty shore-break water, and that is precisely what makes the place worth it.
hazard
Shore break and rip currents between the bars: with any ground swell this beach does not forgive. In summer there are bathers and you must stay clear of them; Ons, part of the Illas Atlánticas National Park, is about 4.8 km off and spearfishing is banned there. Pollack is catch-and-release from 1 January to 30 April.
access
There is parking right off the PO-550 and you walk the sand to the rocks at the end; no scrambling involved. Get in over the beach and swim a couple of minutes out to the stone. If it is breaking, do not exit against the rocks: come back along the sand even if it means a four-hundred-metre walk.
South end of A Lanzada beach; sea bass in the shore break, only with little sea.
Punta Faro de O GroveExposed coast — O Grove west coast
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today (city-level)
window
The calendar matters more than the forecast: weekends and public holidays all year, and the full week only from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). That settled, take the morning slack: little current and good light on the rock.
tide
A proper Atlantic tide: around 3.4 m on springs and near 1.8 on neaps. At low water the point uncovers a granite platform you have to climb down carefully, and water runs in the mouth: the flood pulls into the ría, the ebb pushes out. Plan the dive around slack water.
shelter
The lighthouse point closes O Grove to the south and looks out at the mouth of the Ría de Pontevedra: north and northeast sit behind you and leave the shore glassy. Northwest arrives refracted, softer but long, while the southwest opens it up with a short, nasty chop.
conditions
Over the lighthouse rock you get four to six metres of vis in a calm sea, and more after a run of northeasterlies. It is spoiled by ground swell, which stirs the sand out of the neighbouring coves, and by the Ría de Pontevedra plume after two days of rain. In a fresh southwesterly, forget it.
hazard
Ons, inside the Illas Atlánticas National Park, is about 6.2 km to the southwest: spearfishing is banned there and the edge cannot be told apart from the water. Buoy compulsory, 25 m maximum away from it; night diving is banned across Spain. Watch for pots and set lines on the point.
access
You come in along the lighthouse track, leave the car at the top and drop a few minutes down stepped granite to the water. The clean entry is the notch on the sheltered east side, and with a flat sea you can come out there too. If it is breaking, never exit on the south face of the point.
Rocky point by the lighthouse; rock bottom, entry over the stones, moderately exposed.
San Vicente do Mar (O Con Negro)Exposed coast — O Grove west coast
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today (city-level)
window
First check the date: outside Holy Week (Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday) and the May-to-September stretch, spearfishing in Galicia is limited to Saturdays, Sundays and official public holidays (state and Galician) (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Weather-wise, take the early morning, before the thermal northwesterly fills in.
tide
The Atlantic rules here: around 3.4 m on springs and close to 1.8 on neaps. At spring low water, slabs and cons dry out that sit under four metres at high tide, and you feel the flow between the stones. Get in on the flood so you are not crawling back over mussel shell.
shelter
The San Vicente headland faces the open west, between the mouths of Arousa and Pontevedra: the 220–305° sector hits it square on and the WNW at 285° is the worst of the lot. With a northeasterly of 30–60° the sea flattens behind the cons and the rock close inshore works well.
conditions
In summer with a settled northeasterly you usually get five or six metres of vis, a bit more over clean rock. What kills it is the northwest ground swell: it lifts the sand out of the Area das Pipas coves and leaves milk in the water for two or three days. Southwest and rain, stay home.
hazard
The Illas Atlánticas National Park (Ons and Sálvora) lies about 5.9 km away: spearfishing is banned inside it and the boundary is invisible from the water. Buoy is compulsory and never more than 25 m from it; night diving is banned throughout Spain. Pollack is catch-and-release only from 1 January to 30 April.
access
Park in the San Vicente do Mar development and drop to the shore through the sandy pockets between the boulders; the granite is slippery at low water. Cross fifty metres of loose stone and the drop-off opens to the west. If it is breaking, come out on the sand, never over the cons.
Rocky ground at the west tip of O Grove; drop-offs to the west, grouper and sea bream, exposed to swell.
Costa interior da ria de ArousaSheltered water — Ría de Arousa
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today (city-level)
window
Check the calendar before driving out: between October and April you may only hunt at weekends or on official public holidays (state and Galician), and the daily permission returns in Holy Week (Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday) and from 1 May to 30 September (art. 13.2). Pick the two hours before high water too, when the clearer water comes in.
tide
The 3.4 m of springs show up here more than on the open coast because the bottom is so gentle: at low water sand flats and shellfish beds dry out, and you have to walk to reach a metre of water. On the ebb the current drags silt along and visibility drops suddenly.
shelter
This shore is the northeast face of the O Grove peninsula, looking into the Ría de Arousa: the land blocks the whole west and northwest, so ground swell arrives dead. What spoils it is the northeasterly blowing down the ría, which builds a short, irritating chop in no time.
conditions
This is ría water, full of plankton and green: two to four metres of vis is normal and five is a good day, with the flood pushing clean outside water in. After heavy rain, with the Ulla discharging, it turns brown and is not even worth driving out to.
hazard
The mussel rafts are private property and someone else's gear: do not approach or tie on to them. Shellfishing boats work here and you must leave 300 m to professional vessels at work. Also, Annex VI of Orden 17.09.2009 closes inner lines of the rías that are not on our map: check before you head out.
access
You drop down from the Reboredo road by any of the little cove accesses; park on the verge and walk a minute. The entry is sand with low rock and weed, slippery but with no step down. At low water you have to walk a long way before you can swim; at high water you get in straight off the shore.
NE side of the peninsula; well sheltered, sand and low-rock bottom.
A Monday in June is legal and a Monday in February is not: Galicia closes weekdays outside the May-to-September window and Holy Week (Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday); Saturdays, Sundays and official public holidays (state and Galician) stay open all year (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). With ground this shallow, go at midday with the sun high; without light the green water lets you make out nothing.
tide
With 3.4 m on springs the island half dries out: shoals and tongues of sand uncover that carry three or four metres over them at high water. Between the island and the bridge the ebb stream really runs and stirs the bottom, so that passage is no place to linger.
shelter
The island sits deep inside the ría and that decides everything: the face looking at Vilanova and the mainland stays flat in almost any weather, while the northern tip, towards Sálvora, catches the little that gets in through the mouth when the northwest blows hard. In a light southerly you can work almost the whole shoreline.
conditions
Shallow ground of sand, low rock and weed: two to four metres of visibility is the norm and the outer tip clears a little at the end of the flood. Rain and the Ulla's fresh water stain everything for days, and the spring plankton leaves the water green even when there is no sea at all.
hazard
Sálvora, part of the Illas Atlánticas National Park, is about 7.9 km away and spearfishing is banned there. In here, Annex VI of Orden 17.09.2009 closes inner lines of the ría that we have not mapped: verify that closure before you get in the water. Mussel rafts and shellfishing boats everywhere.
access
Cross the bridge from Vilanova, park beside the beaches on the south of the island and walk in over flat rock and sand, with no drop at all. It is all very shallow: you have to swim a while to find rock with life on it. Come out on the same beach and keep clear of the boat channel.
Island in the Ría de Arousa with rocky points and a sheltered shallow reef; mind the protected zones.
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».
✓Spearfishing licence mandatory; the AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY issues it (not the State) and it is valid in the exterior waters of the whole coast. Free-diving only — scuba is banned (, art. 3).
✓Spearfishing catch may not be sold or traded — it is non-commercial fishing ().
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset to sunrise not allowed) — , art. 16.d.
✓Marker buoy MANDATORY: mark your position with a clearly visible buoy and stay within 25 m of it — , art. 15.
✓Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water — , art. 16.a.
✓Keep at least 300 m from professional fishing vessels that are working — , art. 12.b.
✓The state act (, art. 16) bans, for spearfishing: a loaded gun out of the water; explosive/electric points and lamps (hand torches excepted); underwater scooters; night — from sunset to sunrise. Plus art. 12 b), d), e): 300 m from professional fishing vessels, light as an attractant, poisons/explosives. A ban in a PARTICULAR reserve, port or beach comes from that place's OWN instrument (the reserve's order, the autonomous community's rules, the port authority) — see the no-take zones on the map and your community's rules.
✓Min. sizes by ( + + EU 2019/1241): sea bass 42 cm (rec.) / 36 cm / 25 cm Mediterranean / 22 cm Canaries; gilthead bream 20 cm and white seabream 23 cm in the Mediterranean (EU 2019/1241); grouper 45 cm. See your zone's species card.
✓Only species in Annex I of may be taken; keeping, landing or transporting undersized specimens is prohibited.
✓The licence needs a medical fitness certificate for free-diving and civil-liability insurance (or a federative licence, which includes it). Mandatory in the Basque Country/Murcia/Asturias/Galicia; the federative licence covers it in Galicia/Balearics/Cantabria; the Canaries and Andalusia do NOT require it for the individual licence (a responsible health declaration). Minimum age generally 16 (14 in Andalusia).
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 · O Grove
Spearfishing in O Grove: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in O Grove depends on the side of the peninsula. The west tip at San Vicente do Mar/O Con Negro has rocky ground, drop-offs and swell exposure; A Lanzada is a shore-break sea bass option only with little sea. Inner Arousa is the sheltered listed ground, with sand and low rock. Legally this is Galicia: use the Clase C PE405A route and treat the Atlantic Islands National Park no-take zones as hard limits.
TL;DR
O Grove is a Rías Baixas peninsula: west-facing San Vicente and A Lanzada are exposed, while inner Arousa is more sheltered.
The Atlantic Islands National Park is the named no-take rule; Complexo Ons - O Grove is advisory Natura 2000, not an automatic ban.
Galicia means Clase C through PE405A, minimum age 16 and medical certificate.
Where can you spearfish in O Grove?
West is exposed. San Vicente do Mar/O Con Negro has drop-offs, grouper and bream, but takes swell. Punta Faro is lighthouse rock with stone entry and moderate exposure. A Lanzada works only with little sea. Inner Arousa is sheltered. Illa de Arousa has rocky points and shallow reef, with a protected-zone warning.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
San Vicente do Mar (O Con Negro)
Rocky west-tip ground
Western drop-offs
-
-
The source names grouper and bream, and marks it exposed to swell. It is also flagged under Complexo Ons - O Grove as Natura 2000 advisory.
Punta Faro de O Grove
Rocky lighthouse point
Rock bottom
-
Over stones
Stone entry and moderate exposure in the source.
A Lanzada (lado O Grove)
Exposed beach end
Shore break
-
-
Sea bass in the shore break, only with little sea.
Costa interior da ria de Arousa
Sheltered inner coast
Sand and low rock
-
-
NE side of the peninsula, well sheltered in the source.
✓There is no fixed national catch cap (, art. 5 delegates it to the communities); the standard is 5 kg/person/day, with 1 specimen allowed not to count (Canaries — Decreto 182/2004, art. 38.3; Murcia; Galicia; Basque Country). Protected species have per-piece quotas.
✓Only a harpoon is allowed — hand-held or mechanically propelled, with one or several points (, art. 14.1). Carrying spearfishing gear and underwater breathing equipment aboard AT THE SAME TIME is prohibited (art. 14.2) — an offence in itself, even if you dived on a breath hold.
✓Spain is not one jurisdiction. The licence is issued by a coastal autonomous community, and you must comply with the rules of the administration on whose littoral you are in the water: «debiendo cumplir la normativa establecida por la administración en cuyo litoral se realice la actividad» (, art. 13). Interior waters — inside the straight baselines: bays, coves, rías, the whole coastal strip — are the community's competence; exterior waters are the State's. So the age, the days of the week, the distances and the are found in your community's act, not in the state one.
✓Galicia: «Clase C» licence (submarina), procedure PE405A on the Xunta portal; minimum age 16, medical certificate required. Galicia recognises spearfishing licences from other communities and the EU. sede.xunta.gal (PE405A).
✓No-take zone: Atlantic Islands National Park (Cíes, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada) — spearfishing banned (see zones on the map).
✓Galicia is the only community that closes weekdays: spearfishing is allowed only on Saturdays, Sundays and state or regional holidays, and from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September, every day (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Daylight only, orto to ocaso (art. 13.3). The cap is 5 kg per licence per day, and 2 octopus per fisher per day (art. 12.3). The zones closed to spearfishing are listed in (art. 11.2). The licence needs an official medical fitness certificate, insurance and an arms licence or a federation card (art. 3.b).
⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected (RPE).
Rules change and are REGIONAL. Before heading out, check with the competent autonomous community (licence) and the min-size table in force.
Shallow reef and rock
-
-
Mind protected zones. The source does not make the whole island no-take.
Which zones are closed to spearfishing in the Ría de Arousa?
The Galicia block names the Atlantic Islands National Park, Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada, as closed to spearfishing. San Vicente do Mar/O Con Negro in Natura 2000 Complexo Ons - O Grove and Illa de Arousa carry advisory protected-zone notes. Check local rules; those notes are not whole-area bans.
What fish can you spearfish in O Grove?
The O Grove spot text names grouper and bream at San Vicente, and sea bass at A Lanzada. The Cantabrian-NW list also includes European seabass, gilthead seabream, salema, bogue, black seabream, grey mullet, red porgy, striped red mullet, octopus, conger and pollack. Legal sizes include seabass at 42 cm, gilthead bream at 19 cm and octopus at 1 kg.
When is the best time to spearfish in the Rías Baixas?
The source gives no month window for O Grove. It gives Atlantic tide regime, upwelling coast and a bad W to NW sector. Use that as a conditions filter: San Vicente and A Lanzada need little sea, Punta Faro is moderately exposed, and inner Arousa is sheltered. The webcam helps read the surface, not underwater visibility.
Do I need a license to spearfish in Galicia?
Yes. The Galicia item says Clase C spearfishing licence, PE405A on the Xunta portal, minimum age 16 and a required medical certificate. Galicia also recognises spearfishing licences from other Spanish autonomous communities and the EU. National rules still apply: freediving only, no scuba, daylight only, visible buoy within 25 m, no loaded speargun out of water, and no catch sale.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in O Grove?
The source lists San Vicente do Mar/O Con Negro, Punta Faro, A Lanzada, Costa interior da ria de Arousa and Illa de Arousa. The west side is more exposed. Inner Arousa is sheltered.
Which zones are closed to spearfishing in the Ría de Arousa?
The Galicia no-take rule names the Atlantic Islands National Park: Cíes, Ons, Sálvora and Cortegada. Complexo Ons - O Grove is Natura 2000 advisory. Check local boundaries.
What fish can you spearfish in O Grove?
The local spot text names grouper, bream and sea bass. The Cantabrian-NW list also includes gilthead bream, salema, black seabream, grey mullet, red porgy, red mullet, octopus, conger and pollack.
When is the best time to spearfish in the Rías Baixas?
The source gives no month window for O Grove. It marks Atlantic upwelling coast and poor W to NW exposure. Use little sea for San Vicente and A Lanzada.
Do I need a license to spearfish in Galicia?
Yes. Galicia uses the Clase C spearfishing licence through Xunta PE405A, with minimum age 16 and a medical certificate. The rule is regional.
Spain
