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 03:33
Orio — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 2.0 m (occasionally up to ~3.9 m)
wave 2 mwind 12 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 17.9°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
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.
Sunday · today2026-10-25
07:34–18:10 · full moon
▲ 03:00▼ 09:00▲ 15:00▼ 21:00mid-range tides · 3.7 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-1.56 m
Wave2.30 m
Wind7 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 06:42 · moderate · moon underfoot 12:10 · high · moonrise 17:28 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.96 m · roughperiod 9.2 swind 12→22surge 33.7viz 1 m
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: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
May to November; it is the page's mark that holds latest into the autumn.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. At high water the cove closes and the only exit is on the left; at low water you get out anywhere.
shelter
The two crags shelter each other: on a westerly you fish behind Aiznalaundi, on an easterly behind Aiznaltxiki.
conditions
Big boulders from 8 to 14 m with corridors between them; 6-9 m of visibility, well clear of the Oria.
hazard
No mapped zone nearby: Antilla 1.7 km and the port 1.8 km. This is the edge of the municipality; beyond it the coast is San Sebastián's — another page and another access.
access
From the Igeldo road, 800 m of dirt track and down the gully to the smaller crag.
The two crags at the municipality's eastern edge, already facing Igeldo; big boulders at 8-14 m, best on a southerly and 1.7 km from the bathing zone.
July to October; Antilla is busy all summer but the islet is on the far side of the point.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. The cut steps cover on a spring high: check the time of the return before you go down.
shelter
The islet splits the sea and leaves a fishable channel inside it on a light north-westerly.
conditions
The islet wall from 4 to 12 m; 5-7 m of visibility in summer and murky all winter.
hazard
The Antilla bathing zone is 439 m south-west and the port channel 564 m: this mark is outside both, but it is the page's closest to either. The channel between islet and shore speeds up on the ebb. censused bathing zone — from 1 Jun to 30 Sep art. 14.3 of Decreto 198/2000 bars spearfishing inside it and within 250 m
access
From the end of the Antilla promenade over the rocks, 400 m, and a short swim to the islet at slack water.
Islet and point east of the bar; vertical rock and boulders at 4-12 m, the closest mark to town and 439 m from Antilla.
Summer and autumn on a land wind; winter here is simply inaccessible.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. The ebb sets east — that is, towards the Zona de Reserva: you swim against it, you do not drift with it.
shelter
None: the point faces north and only a south land wind flattens it.
conditions
Short drop-off from 5 to 13 m over kelp; 6-8 m of visibility, the best in the municipality.
hazard
No mapped zone nearby: Antilla 918 m, the port 1.0 km. An exposed point, no intermediate exit and swell that gets up from the north-west without warning.
access
Track from the Burugain farmstead and a 10 m rock scramble to the platform.
Point open to the north; short drop-off and kelp at 5-13 m. With a north-west sea nobody gets in, and there is no mapped zone within 900 m.
June to November, and always a few days after the last heavy rain.
tide
Cantabrian regime, spring range up to 4.5 m. Below half-tide the slab is out of the water and there is no entry here.
shelter
The cove is wedged between two spurs and takes a westerly; on a northerly it breaks right in.
conditions
Slabs and kelp from 3 to 9 m; 4-6 m of visibility, and less when the Oria is discharging.
hazard
Clear of every zone: Antilla 865 m, the port 640 m and the biotope 8.9 km. The risk is the exit — the cove closes up at high water and you climb out on the left.
access
Coast path west from Orio, 25 minutes, and down the grass slope.
Rocky cove to the west, between Orio and Mollarri; slabs and kelp at 3-9 m, entry off the coast path. 865 m from Antilla and 640 m from the port.
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.
✓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.
FAQ — spearfishing in Orio
Where can I spearfish in Orio?
Orio has rock entry points such as Txeteneko senotia, Aranarri and Burugain Punta. Orio lives off its estuary, and the bar and channel are shipping water closed to spearfishing. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Orio?
Summer and early autumn are the windows — in winter the Bay of Biscay swell shuts the coast down. Tides are large (4 m+) and set up current, so pick a small-sea day with the tide in your favour.
How cold is the water in Orio?
~14–22 °C: cool, but it warms up in the summer window. A 5 mm suit at peak summer, 7 mm with a hood the rest of the year.
Is Orio good for a beginner?
Demanding: strong Biscay swell, big tides and exposed rock entries. It's for those who can already read the sea and pick the window well — not a coast to start on.
Do I need a licence in Orio?
Yes — in Orio you need a recreational sea-fishing licence (issued by the autonomous community); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide.
✓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.
✓Basque Country: the spearfishing licence is issued by the Basque Government — Gobierno Vasco (Eusko Jaurlaritza): Decreto 198/2000, platform, spearfishing valid 1 year.
✓Basque Country: spearfishing needs a SEPARATE licence (Decreto 198/2000, art. 4); it takes being 16, an official sports medical certificate of fitness for this very activity, and accident + civil-liability insurance (art. 7.3). The cap is 5 kg (art. 12.1). Barred within 250 m of properly delimited bathing or watersport areas (art. 14.3); orto to ocaso only (art. 16). Ports, docks, habitual anchorages, navigation channels and vessel-traffic zones are closed; and a biotope, a special-protection zone or an artificial reef closes spearfishing only when ITS OWN norm says so (art. 18).
⛔ 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.
Data partners
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