Do you need the DICAPI card in Paracas?

Los Viejos, La Aguja and El Sequión are NOT use-zone marks: the official zoning puts them in a Strict Protection zone, no taking. Dive and photograph them; the afternoon S-SE Paracas wind clouds the water.

Is scuba spearing allowed in Peru?

No. Peru bans speargun use with scuba; stay on breath-hold.

Which Peru closures matter near Paracas?

Chita pauses in December; lorna pauses in April.

How should you read visibility at Paracas?

The bay offers partial shelter, but a northwest sea and the afternoon wind still decide the day; use the two webcams to read color and foam before you commit.

Paracas spearfishing forecast — Peru

Q: What should be treated as off limits near Paracas?

Paredes de San Gallán falls in a Direct-Use zone, but the edge of a Strict Protection zone runs ~6 m from the mark: confirm the boundary with SERNANP before shooting.

Paracas · Peru

2.5

visibility: 1 m

visibility1m

Today — sit it out.

Sources: Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 22:29

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.

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 — 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.

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 22:29

Open water — Isla San Gallán — solo, off the rocks

Day is over

That is it for today — the day's windows have closed.

Tomorrow, best window 06:00–09:00

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.

Saturday · today2026-10-24

05:33–18:04 · full moon

▲ 04:00▼ 11:00▲ 17:00▼ 23:00 · 0.7 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide0.12 m

Wave2.88 m

Wind19 km/h

Water21 °C

fish activity: moonset 04:10 · moderate · moon underfoot 10:30 · high · moonrise 16:50 · moderate · moon overhead 22:50 · high

Open the seafloor map with entry points

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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

Paredes de San GallánOpen water — Isla San Gallán

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

⚠️ This point is inside the restricted zone “RN de Paracas — Zona de Aprovechamiento Directo (zonificación oficial del ANP (Plan Maestro) · Ley 26834 (Ley de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) art. 23)”: fishing there is regulated (season, gear, permit), not banned outright. Read the zone's rules before you go.

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

Rock walls of San Gallán Island, ~30 min by boat; cracks, tunnels, big species — advanced. The coordinate itself falls in the RN Paracas Direct-Use zone (zoning R.P.E. 000173-2025-SERNANP/PE), the class where the law provides for taking — entry ticket, subject to the Plan Maestro. But the edge of a STRICT PROTECTION zone runs ~6 m from the mark, closer than a handheld GPS can resolve: do not shoot here without seeing the boundary.

Google Maps

El SequiónSheltered water — Bahía de Paracas

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

Islet in Paracas Bay; rock 3–10 m, good visibility. 🔴 RN Paracas STRICT PROTECTION zone (SERNANP zoning R.P.E. 000173-2025; Ley 26834 art. 23 a): no activity but research — spearfishing PROHIBITED. Coords approx.

Google Maps

La AgujaSheltered water — Bahía de Paracas

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

Rock needle off the Paracas peninsula; wall 5–15 m, sea lions, schools, rays. 🔴 RN Paracas STRICT PROTECTION zone (SERNANP zoning R.P.E. 000173-2025; Ley 26834 art. 23 a) — spearfishing PROHIBITED. Coords approx.

Google Maps

Los Viejos (Paracas)Sheltered water — Bahía de Paracas

dangerous

⛔ Banned here

in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind

window: —

Rock reef in the Paracas reserve, cabrilla and rockfish. 🔴 NOT outside the cores: the official zoning (R.P.E. 000173-2025-SERNANP/PE) puts it in the STRICT PROTECTION zone — spearfishing prohibited (Ley 26834 art. 23 a). Coords approx.

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.

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

murique grouper
Epinephelus labriformis · 3–30 m · legal
flag cabrilla
Epinephelus / Paralabrax · 2–25 m · legal
Peruvian grunt
Anisotremus scapularis · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Reproductive closure in December — don't take it that month. Sale of the catch banned.
Pacific drum
Sciaena deliciosa · 1–20 m · ⚠️ closed season/limit
Closure in April — don't take it that month.
Peruvian morwong
Cheilodactylus variegatus · 2–25 m · legal
fine flounder
Paralichthys adspersus · 2–30 m · legal

Law

✓Recreational fishing needs no PRODUCE permit, BUT spearfishing requires a DICAPI diver card/registration (Coast Guard), 18+. Spearing on scuba is banned.
✓RN Mar Tropical de Grau (Máncora/Tumbes/Piura) = protected area with restrictions; check the sectors before shooting.

⛔ 🚫 Seahorse, whale shark and manta ray — take banned. Don't shoot.
⛔ 🚫 RN Mar Tropical de Grau (D.S. 003-2024-MINAM), Paracas NR, San Fernando NR and RNSIIPG (guano islands/points) — no-take core zones: no hunting inside the rings.

Rules change. Before heading out, get the DICAPI diver card/registration (Coast Guard) — spearing on scuba is banned; check the sectors of RN Mar Tropical de Grau.

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.

Spearfishing in Paracas: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Paracas is reserve-first spearfishing. A sheltered bay inside the Paracas reserve, where what decides is the ZONE under the point and not the reserve outline (Ley 26834 art. 27): the official zoning (R.P.E. 000173-2025-SERNANP/PE) puts Strict Protection zones in Independencia bay, no-take, and Direct-Use zones over the rest of the marine sector. Use dawn, low swell and a clean exit, then confirm the sector before any take. In Peru, spearfishing needs the DICAPI sport-diver card for adults 18 and over; spearing on scuba is banned. Paredes de San Gallán falls in a Direct-Use zone, but the edge of a Strict Protection zone runs ~6 m from the mark: confirm the boundary with SERNANP before shooting.

TL;DR

Paracas: reserve rules, sheltered bay water and the afternoon Paracas wind.

Northwest swell is the worst case, though the bay gives some shelter; wind still calls it, and two webcams show color and foam.

In Peru, spearfishing needs the DICAPI sport-diver card for adults 18 and over; spearing on scuba is banned.

Where to look first in Paracas

Small sea, buddy and legal check first. Los Viejos and La Aguja sit in a Strict Protection zone: dive-and-look marks, not places to take from. Protected or breeding-fauna water changes the plan.

Spot	Type	Depth	Level	Access	Notes
Los Viejos (Paracas)	reef	shallow to mid-depth	Intermediate	shore entry, only in small seas	Rock reef in Paracas reserve (use zone), cabrilla and rockfish. Leave if foam builds.
La Aguja	mixed bottom	5-15m	Intermediate	shore entry, only in small seas	Rock needle off the Paracas peninsula; wall 5-15 m with sea lions, schools and rays. Leave if foam builds.

What conditions matter most in Paracas?

The worst sea is from NW; there is some shelter, but wind still decides; upwelling can clear and cool the water at the same time; 2 webcam links help check color and foam. Use early mornings, carry the park entry where it applies and stay in direct-use sectors. Foamy exit or rising wind means scout only. Independencia Bay holds Strict Protection zones and another of them reaches San Gallán — no-take; work the Direct-Use zones with an entry ticket. Chita is closed in December and lorna in April. Los Viejos and La Aguja are NOT direct-use: the official zoning puts them in a Strict Protection zone, where nothing is taken. La Aguja has a 5-15 m wall with sea lions, schools and rays, while El Sequion is 3-10 m rock with clearer beginner or photo water. Around San Gallán the drop-off is filed as Direct-Use, but a Strict Protection boundary runs within metres of the dive mark: without seeing the line, do not shoot. The afternoon Paracas wind from S-SE can cloud the water even after a clean morning, so keep the exit and ticket rules ahead of the fish list.

Surface

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

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Help us make it better

The water column

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The seabed

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.

Spearfishing in Paracas: spots, seasons and rules

TL;DR

Where to look first in Paracas

What conditions matter most in Paracas?

FAQ

Sources

Nearby towns

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

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Paracas by email

Spots in Peru

🇵🇪Peru

Central Peru

South Peru

North Peru

Help us make it better

A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.The call is on the rock.

Where to get in off the rocks.

Look at the water right now.

What's in season, what the law says.

TL;DR

Where to look first in Paracas

What conditions matter most in Paracas?

FAQ

Sources

Nearby towns

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.