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 02:37
Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.9 m (occasionally up to ~3.8 m)
wave 1.9 mwind 22, gusts 38 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.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Sunrise to sunset, as the Canary decree requires, and always inside a listed acotada. At Punta Limones the sensible move is an early start, before the promenade and the beach fill up and before the ferries begin their shuttle. The months with least southerly weather, May to October, give far more usable days.
tide
You are on the edge of La Bocaina, the arm of sea that separates Lanzarote from Fuerteventura, and on springs the tide reaches two and a half metres. The water moving through the strait shows up as a soft, steady current running parallel to the shore, and at low water the slabs dry out and the walk in gets much longer.
shelter
Punta Limones is a low flat point just west of the town, facing south; with the NE trade blowing in the surface stays almost slick, which is why everyone learns here. It goes off when weather comes from the west and southwest, between 120 and 250 degrees, once the sea wraps around the corner of the island.
conditions
This is shallow ground of flat slab and sand with plenty of light: on an ordinary day you see ten or fifteen metres without trying. What clouds it is a southwesterly chop lifting sand off the slabs and, now and then, the wash of the ferries leaving the harbour, which stirs the bottom nearest the quay.
hazard
A blank map is no permit: the archipelago is closed to spearfishing except inside the acotadas of the annexes, so confirm that Limones falls within one. And the harbour weighs heavily here: port waters are off limits, the Corralejo ferries come and go all day and the town beach forces the 150 m rule. At night, nothing. Confirmed in the annex: Punta Limones does not appear as an acotada in the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, amended on 3/7/2008), and without that cover spearfishing does not apply; the point stays one for freediving and for learning the coast.
access
Park on the seafront promenade west of the harbour and go down the concrete steps onto the slab; the edge is thick with urchins, so wear stiff-soled boots. Swim west, away from the harbour mouth, and the clean exit is the sandy corner just before the first house on the front.
Rocky ground west of Playa Blanca; rock and sand, sheltered from the trade wind, good for beginners.
Puerto del Carmen / Playa ChicaPlaya Blanca (Lanzarote)
dangerous
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Sunrise to sunset only, and only inside a listed acotada; on top of that this cove is Lanzarote's diving classroom and from mid-morning there are groups queueing down the ramp. If shooting here is lawful at all it will be at first light, and otherwise it is better to pick another piece of coast.
tide
With about two and a half metres of range on springs, the tide here mostly decides the entry: at low water the concrete steps are wet and green with algae, and the edge of the drop-off becomes a longer swim. A gentle vein of water usually runs along the wall, and it pays to take it with you.
shelter
Playa Chica is a cove tucked into the built-up front of Puerto del Carmen, facing south-southwest, with the town and the breakwater blocking the NE trade; that is why it works almost any day. What shuts it is sea from the 120-250 degree sector, which comes straight at the ramp and breaks on the steps.
conditions
This is the clearest and busiest water on the island: twenty-odd metres of visibility is normal over the sand that runs out to the drop-off, and the light reaches down without trouble. It only drops when a southerly pushes surf into the cove or when too many fins are stirring the sand at the entry.
hazard
Here the first problem is not the sea but the paperwork: outside the official acotadas there is no spearfishing in the Canaries, and a clean map proves nothing. On top of that the cove is a bathing area and a dive-school base, with the 150 m rule from swimmers to respect, and La Tiñosa harbour sits right next door. In practice, a place to look at. And the check ends in a no: Playa Chica is not an acotada under the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, with the 3/7/2008 reform), so nobody spears here; as a freediving and diving cove it is exactly what it always was.
access
Park along the Puerto del Carmen promenade and go down the ramp and steps of the cove itself; the entry is sandy and stays comfortable even in poor sea. From there you swim southwest until the sand ends and the wall begins. The exit is always that same ramp, never the rocks on the flank.
Playa Chica rocky ground; lively drop-offs, clear water, moderately exposed to the S.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Sunrise to sunset and inside a listed acotada, as everywhere in the archipelago. At Pechiguera the sea state rules on top of that: the good days fall in the calm gaps between trade-wind pulses, almost always first thing in the morning, and summer strings together far more of them than winter.
tide
This is the spot on the list where the tide matters most: the point pinches the Bocaina passage and with two and a half metres of range on springs the water genuinely runs along the drop-off. Go in at the turn, not in the middle of the stream, and plan the return with the flow before leaving the lighthouse behind.
shelter
The lighthouse point is the southwest corner of Lanzarote and has no shelter on the ocean side: everything arriving from west and southwest lands squarely on the platform. The NE trade blows offshore here and flattens the surface, but old northwesterly groundswell wraps the corner and keeps breaking on the shallows.
conditions
When it goes flat the water here is open-ocean water, blue and very clean, with twenty metres and more of visibility on the outer drop-offs. The window is narrow: half a metre of westerly groundswell already puts backwash in the entry gullies and the place stops being worth it, however pretty the sky.
hazard
Take nothing for granted just because the map shows no closure: spearfishing in the Canaries exists only inside the acotadas of the annexes, and Pechiguera has to appear on that list. Then there is the current, which pushes offshore and makes it essential to stay with the buoy and inside 25 m of it; there is boat traffic, and night is banned. Already checked, and it comes out negative: Pechiguera is not on the acotada list of the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, amended by the Orden of 3/7/2008), so spearfishing off the point is not permitted; freediving and exploring are.
access
Park by the old lighthouse at the end of the resort and walk out over the lava platform to one of the gullies. Go in through the most sheltered notch, counting the sets, and come out exactly where you went in: the rest of the front is cut rock with no way of climbing back up once the sea gets up.
Rocky ground below the Pechiguera lighthouse; deep drop-offs, exposed to the W-SW, advanced.
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Canary rules put you in the water from sunrise to sunset and only inside a listed acotada; at Papagayo the practical constraint is starting early, because the track fills with cars and the coves with swimmers by mid-morning. Summer and autumn give the flattest southerly windows.
tide
The Canary tide runs about two and a half metres on springs here, over three at the extremes, and at Papagayo you feel it right at the shore: at low water the boulder slabs along the edge of the coves dry out and the walk in gets longer. Off the point the Bocaina flow adds a sideways drag.
shelter
The headland looks south, around 185 degrees, so the NE trade wind is blocked by the Los Ajaches ridge and the water beside the point often goes glassy. What ruins it is the 120-250 degree sector, with SSW at 200 the worst bearing: any southerly groundswell fills the coves with white water.
conditions
In calm weather the visibility off Papagayo is among the best on Lanzarote, a good fifteen to twenty metres over the pale sand that separates the drop-offs. What kills it is southerly groundswell: two days of surf in the coves lifts the sand and leaves milky water right out to the point.
hazard
An empty map is not a permission: on the Canaries spearfishing is legal only inside the acotadas listed in the orders, so check this stretch against that list before you drive down. Add the compulsory 150 m from swimmers and anchored boats, the coves packed in summer, the night ban, and the north of the island, La Graciosa and its islets, closed outright. That check, done: Papagayo is not among the acotadas the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, am. 3/7/2008) lists, and without being on the list spearfishing is not permitted; the coves are left for freediving and exploring.
access
You get there on the dirt track out of Playa Blanca, through the paid barrier of the Los Ajaches natural monument; park up on the cliff edge and walk down to the cove. Entry is over lava blocks slick with weed, and the comfortable exit is the tongue of sand, never the front of the headland.
Volcanic rocky ground at Cabo de Papagayo; drop-offs and sand, parrotfish and sea bream, exposed to S swell; respect Los Ajaches.
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».
Minimum sizes by caladero (in the table below). Season depends on the species and place.
In season now
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
two-banded seabream
Diplodus vulgaris · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
salema / saupe
Sarpa salpa · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
black seabream
Spondyliosoma cantharus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
red porgy
Pagrus pagrus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011).
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Canaries · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos.
Mediterranean parrotfish
Sparisoma cretense · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
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 Playa Blanca (Lanzarote)
Where can I spearfish in Playa Blanca (Lanzarote)?
Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) has rock entry points such as Punta del Papagayo, Playa Blanca / Punta Limones and Puerto del Carmen / Playa Chica. Playa Blanca faces south at Lanzarote's southern tip. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Playa Blanca (Lanzarote)?
Year-round — 20 m+ visibility over volcanic relief. Ocean swell hits the islands' north faces, so pick the sheltered (south/west) side for the day. The Canaries have their own species rules.
How cold is the water in Playa Blanca (Lanzarote)?
Warm for the Atlantic and steady all year: ~18–24 °C. A 3 mm suit in summer, 5 mm in winter. Very clear water over volcanic rock.
Is Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) good for a beginner?
Intermediate: very clear water but volcanic drop-offs, ocean swell on the exposed faces and rock entries. Pick the sheltered side, and apnea comfort helps.
Do I need a licence in Playa Blanca (Lanzarote)?
Yes — in Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) 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.
✓🔴 The Canary Islands run a PERMISSIVE regime, not a prohibitive one. In the archipelago's interior waters spearfishing is allowed ONLY INSIDE the zonas acotadas listed in the act's annex: «las zonas acotadas dentro de las cuales se permite la práctica de la pesca marítima de recreo submarina, son las que figuran en el anexo» (Orden 29.10.2007). For the archipelago's exterior waters the same is set by an act of its own (Orden 22.02.1988). So the question is not «is there a closed zone here» but «is this point inside an acotada»: outside one, spearfishing is NOT permitted, even if the map shows no closures at all.
✓Canary Islands (special regime, Decreto 182/2004): the «2nd-class» licence enables recreational spearfishing (free-diving only, scuba banned), valid 3 years; applied for at the Gobierno de Canarias (procedure 1186).
✓Canaries (Decreto 182/2004): the speargun may not be used within 150 m of bathers, beaches, busy areas or surface fishers (art. 36.j); kept loaded/armed out of the water (art. 41.a); any protected, closed-season or undersized catch is returned to the sea (art. 38.1). State distance 300 m to professional fishing (, art. 12.b).
•Bans (RMIP): La Restinga–Mar de las Calmas (El Hierro), La Palma island, La Graciosa and the northern Lanzarote islets — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Canaries (Decreto 182/2004): spearfishing from sunrise to sunset (art. 35.1), with a speargun, a knife and a (art. 31.1). The recreational daily cap is 5 kg per person, in several pieces or in a single heavier one, and one piece may be left out of the count (art. 38.3). The catch is for own consumption or for charity only, and any commercial use is prohibited (art. 38.2). Carrying catch BETWEEN ISLANDS is capped at 10 kg — in several legal-sized pieces, or in one that may exceed that weight (art. 38.5). This regulation sets NO closed seasons of its own: under art. 172.2 the minimum sizes and the épocas de are «las establecidas en la normativa comunitaria, nacional o autonómica», so the Canarian closed-season calendar has to be looked for in another act, not in this one.
⛔ 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.
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