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.
point your camera
0 m
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
no dataupdated 20:57
Peñíscola — solo, off the rocks
BEST WINDOW
best weather window · solo, stay careful, run the checklist · calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal
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.
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.
The level here is as dead as everywhere on this shore — thirteen centimetres. The reserve runs down to 20 m and all its life sits on that band. After rain the barranc del Volante, which is also the northern boundary, washes clay into the cove and muddies it for a couple of days. Current there is none, beyond a weak southward flow after Llevant.
shelter
The cove faces east-south-east, like this whole stretch of Irta, and it has almost no shelter: Llevant and Gregal walk in, Ponent and Llebeig come off the massif and flatten the water. But the geometry here only matters for snorkelling: the gun is outlawed in this cove in any weather.
conditions
You do not shoot here in any wind. The cove lies south of parallel 40°19.93'N, that is inside the Reserva Marina de la Serra d'Irta, and Decreto 163/2006 article 2.b expressly bans 'la pesca recreativa submarina' across the whole reserve. Take the gun north of the barranc del Volante — Cala del Moro or the rock under the castle.
hazard
The main danger here is legal: with a gun in the water you are inside the Reserva Marina de la Serra d'Irta, 941 hectares where spearfishing is banned with no exceptions and no zoning, and boat speed is capped at three knots. Shore angling is closed too, from Cala Volante to Cala Mundina. Physically: local boats' nets, urchins, no phone signal.
access
You get there on the Camí del Pebret dirt track, from Font Nova in the north or from Alcossebre in the south. From 20 June to 6 September both ends are barriered and need a booking. Walkers and cyclists are never restricted. The drop to the water is steep and you enter over rock; the gun you can leave at home.
Rocky coves of Irta; entry over the rocks, moderately exposed to the E-SE.
The level moves thirteen centimetres — on this shore it changes nothing. Something else works: Irta has no permanent rivers, but after the September gota fría the dry barrancos bring clay down off the range and a murky layer sits along the shore for a day or two. After a long Llevant a clear flow pulls south along the ribs.
shelter
The Irta shore here faces east and south-east, and the cove has almost no shelter: the rock ribs on either side only cut the cross wind. Llevant (E) and Xaloc (SE) walk straight in. The place works with Ponent and Llebeig — they come off the Irta massif out to sea and flatten the water to a mirror.
conditions
Come only with the offshore W-SW or in dead calm: then you see 8-10 metres on the rock ribs, rare for this shore. The whole 45-155 sector shuts the cove, and with Llevant there is a metre of soup at the mouth. Shooting is legal here, but watch your latitude: 2.8 km south, at the barranc del Volante, the Irta reserve begins.
hazard
First the boundary: 2.8 km south, from the barranc del Volante, the Reserva Marina de la Serra d'Irta begins, where Decreto 163/2006 expressly bans recreational spearfishing. Second, the small local fleet sets trammel nets right against the rock and they are hard to see. Plus urchins on the slabs, a steep descent, no signal and no lifeguard.
access
You come in from the north, from Peñíscola, through Urbanización Font Nova onto the coastal dirt piste. From 20 June to 6 September there are barriers: you need a booking in the GVA Parcs Naturals app, at least two days ahead, and one car is one booking. On foot or by bike you always get through. You enter the water over big boulders.
Rocky coast of the Sierra de Irta to the south; rich grounds, exposed to the E; respect the marine reserve.
The level is dead, but the murk here has its own source: sand off Playa Sud lifts with any surf and hangs for a day, and the harbour is dredged from time to time. There is no river. The only flow worth counting is the along-shore drift to the south, which carries the harbour's load down to the Irta rocks after every hard Llevant.
shelter
The rocky ends by the harbour sit south-west of the peninsula, and the peninsula works as a breakwater: with Gregal (NE) or Llevant (E) there is still workable water here while Playa Nord is already breaking. This corner is open to southern swell and Xaloc (SE) — then the wave comes in along the shore from the Irta side.
conditions
This is the bad-day option: when the point is off you can still work here, but the bottom is sand and you rarely beat 3-5 metres; after Llevant it drops to one. With Ponent and two calm days the water clears and you get 5-6 metres on the blocks. Into the port basin you do not go at any visibility.
hazard
The port water is closed to fishing entirely — basin, outer anchorage and haul-out zone (Decreto 41/2013 art. 4.3). Separately: the Comunitat Valenciana has 44 artificial reefs, many of them right at harbour mouths, and spearfishing is banned on them and within 300 m around. Then the boats on the entrance line and hooks among the stones.
access
It is the easiest entry in town: park on the Playa Sud promenade or by the harbour, walk over the sand to the stone ends and get in there. Fifty metres of swimming to the blocks, 3-4 m of depth along the mole and sand beyond. A good place to start — but you keep the port water line in your head from the first minute.
Rocky ends by the harbour; semi-sheltered from the Gregal (NE), good for beginners.
Roquedo de la peninsula (bajo el castillo)Peñíscola
no data
window
—
tide
The tide here is thirteen centimetres between low and high — nothing to plan around. There is no river nearby, so the murk comes from elsewhere: sand off Playa Nord that the surf carries round the point, and an along-shore drift running south after two or three days of settled Llevant. In calm the water at the rock stands still.
shelter
The castle peninsula pushes into the sea like a rock iron, and the shelter here depends only on which side you drop in. With Gregal (NE) the south-west flank by Playa Sud sits in the lee; with southern swell it is the north side. Llevant (E) hits the point head-on and wraps both flanks at once.
conditions
The working winds are Ponent and Llebeig (W and SW): they push the water off the shore and under the castle you see 6-8 metres. The 45-155 sector shuts the place down, worst of all right on 90 — with settled Llevant you get a metre and a half at the rock. Shooting is legal here: the Irta reserve starts 3 km south.
hazard
Peñíscola's port waters are closed to all fishing — Decreto 41/2013 article 4.3, and that covers the outer anchorage, not just the basin. Keep 100 m off swimmers; the buoy is mandatory and you may not stray more than 25 m from it. Under the castle the blowhole 'lo Bufador' breathes: when it sounds, the surge at the rock makes the exit dangerous.
access
You leave the car in the old town or on the Playa Sud promenade — in summer it is all paid and full from nine. You go down to the water over the rocks at the foot of the castle wall; the slabs are wet and slippery, boots needed. No swim required: 4-6 m right under the rock, and a hundred metres out the stone dies into sand.
Rocky ground below the castle; rock drop-offs, sea bream and gilthead, exposed to the easterly (E).
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.
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».
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011).
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Mediterranean · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos.
Law
✓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 Peñíscola
Where can I spearfish in Peñíscola?
Peñíscola has rock entry points such as Roquedo de la peninsula (bajo el castillo), Cala del Moro (Sierra de Irta) and Cala Volante (Irta). Peñíscola is a rock peninsula crowned by a castle, facing east. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Peñíscola?
Long season (May–October) and warm water; summer is the most reliable, mornings before the breeze. The tide is negligible — what matters is the wind, the thermocline and the nearby ports and sandy stretches that cut visibility.
How cold is the water in Peñíscola?
Warm for the Mediterranean: ~14–27 °C. A 3 mm suit in summer, 5 mm in the shoulder months. The thermocline chills the bottom here too.
Is Peñíscola good for a beginner?
Accessible: warm, often calm water, good for gaining experience. Watch the boat traffic near ports and the thermocline at depth; buoy always.
Do I need a licence in Peñíscola?
Yes — in Peñíscola 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.
•Valencian Community: three separate licences (inland, maritime, spearfishing); applied for at the Generalitat Valenciana with Cl@ve; Law 5/2017. Confirm the exact procedure page at gva.es.
✓No-take zone: Cap de Sant Antoni marine reserve (Xàbia–Dénia) — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Valencian Community: spearfishing from age 16 and with proven physical fitness (Ley 5/2017, art. 12.1); only a mechanically propelled harpoon is allowed (art. 14.2); autonomous or semi-autonomous diving equipment is prohibited, and having spearguns and that equipment aboard at the same time is PRESUMED to be the illegal practice (art. 14.5). The catch may never be authorised for sale (art. 11.2). There is no «300 m around an artificial reef» radius in this law — that ban lives in each reef's own authorisation.
⛔ 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
dive centres that send us real visibility readings
Spain
