Porto Moniz spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

Porto Moniz · Portugal
5.2
wave 1.2 m head-on
visibility2m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.

Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:31

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
Method
Model consensus, read per window
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine

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 — forced red; the window is closed after dark.

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.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
point your camera
0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
calmupdated 13:31
Porto Moniz — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.2 m + hitting the shore
wave 1.2 m head-onwind 11, gusts 37 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~3 m
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 23.8°C
confidence medium · verdict for the selected day
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.

Wednesday · today2026-07-22
07:15–21:14 · first quarter
▼ 02:00▲ 09:00▼ 15:00▲ 21:00 · 0.9 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.04 m
Wave1.16 m
Wind9 km/h
Water24 °C
fish activity: moonset 01:27 · moderate · moon underfoot 08:30 · high · moonrise 15:38 · moderate · moon overhead 20:50 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish ·
Hs 1.16 mperiod 5.4 s head-onwind 9→35surge 4.8viz 3 m
1.16 mup to ~2.32 · 4° head-on
5.4 sswell moderate
9→35gusts 35 km/h
4.8pounding the rocks
0.64m/s
3 mrecent swell
23.4°C5 mm + hood
▼15:00tide turn near
Atmosphere33 kmlandmarks visible
lowoff the lunar peaks
  • wave 1.2 m + hitting the shore
  • wind-wave — choppy surface
  • ebb — weaker inshore
confidence mediumday
Open the seafloor map with entry points

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

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

The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.

Entry points

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
Ribeira da Janela isletsRibeira da Janela river mouth / sea stacks · Ilhéus da Ribeira da Janela
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Land-scout only in the calmest part of summer; only enter after seeing flat conditions on site yourself.
tide
High tide softens the shorebreak on the pebble entry; at low tide slippery algae rock and the reef are exposed.
shelter
Almost no shelter: open black-pebble beach facing N/NW straight into Atlantic groundswell; the islets 200 m out give only a tiny lee.
hazard
A documented DANGEROUS reef surf spot ('Madona'): a powerful left over rock, dangerous entry and exit, shorebreak on the sharp pebble/boulder entry, and currents around the islets. Solo, this is high risk.
access
~2 km east of Porto Moniz on the EN101 toward Seixal; free parking by the beach, down rock-cut steps to the black pebble shore.

Spectacular reefs and stacks, but this is a surf reef, not a friendly entry — scout from land first; don't dive solo without a local guide.

Google Maps
Porto Moniz Natural Pools (main complex)Town / main pool complex · Piscinas Naturais do Porto Moniz
closed
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Early weekday morning before the crowds and afternoon breeze; best season is summer (May–Sep) when Atlantic swell is smallest.
tide
Mid-to-high tide covers the sharp rocks at the entry; at low tide the platform is slippery with algae.
shelter
The complex's lava platform and breakwaters knock down NW swell; water inside the pools is calm, but the open ocean just beyond is fully exposed to N/NW.
hazard
The dominant danger is entry/exit over the lava platform: a surging wave throws you onto sharp rock and can trap you in the pool. Outside the pools the ocean has no shelter at all.
access
Direct off the EN101 in town, large car park at the complex, steps and ramps straight to the water; changing rooms, shower, lifeguard in bathing season.

Concessioned bathing area — spearfishing is banned here; it's the entry point to get beyond the pools to the lava reefs and tunnels, hunting well away from bathers.

Google Maps
Aquário Natural Pools (Cachalote)East end of bay / wild free pools · Piscinas Naturais do Aquário (Cachalote)
closed
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Weekdays and early morning are quieter than the paid complex; summer is the calmest window.
tide
High water covers the rocky entry; at low tide many sharp lava ledges are exposed.
shelter
Tall black lava ridges at the east end of the bay create calm-water pockets from N/NW swell; beyond the ridge it's open ocean.
hazard
Same NW surge but with NO lifeguard or infrastructure: a sudden wave on the sharp lava entry, cut and entrapment risk against the rock. No one around to pull you out.
access
At the entrance to town, to your right facing the sea; free, open 24/7, walk down from the road/car park to the black lava pools.

Wild free variant — also a bathing area, hunting banned inside the pools; good as a quiet entry to the same lava reefs. ⚠️ Place is real (Cachalote = Aquario free pools, OSM 'Piscinas Naturais do Aquario' at 32.8679,-17.1665), but claimed coords 32.8696,-17.169 are ~300m NW off, landing between the two complexes. HAZARD DISHONEST: claims 'NO lifeguard... no one around to pull you out', but Visit Madeira and Porto Moniz official sources confirm this bathing area IS supervised throughout the bathing season (plus outdoor shower). The isolation danger is fabricated/overstated.

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.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play

Android: the public release is in Google Play review — leave your email and we'll send beta access today.

Android beta — QR code
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».

more: Porto Moniz — piscinas naturais ↗
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Meagre, Mullet · coming soon: Octopus (Sep)

In season now
  • Robalo (sea bass)
    <4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
    Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
  • Sargo (white seabream)
    1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
    Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
  • Dourada (gilthead bream)
    1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
    Very skittish — static ambush.
  • Salema
    0–2 m · — · daytime
    Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
  • Tainha (mullet)
    0–2 m · — · —
    Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
  • Corvina (meagre)
    1–6 m (marginal) · — · twilight
    Near the Tagus mouth, NOT on the Guincho rocks. Adults mostly at 5–75 m. ⚠️ CLOSED 1–30 June (defeso).
  • Santola (spider crab)
    1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
    Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
  • ✓Spearfishing licence required (16+), daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required.
  • ✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required.
  • ✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only.
  • ✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver.
  • ✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg.
  • ✓Invertebrates (including spider crab) — 2 kg/day total.
  • ✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too.
  • ✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g.
  • ✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken.
  • ⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
  • ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.

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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
  • Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
  • Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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 · Porto Moniz

Spearfishing in Porto Moniz: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-20 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Porto Moniz sits on Madeira's wild northwest corner, all volcanic rock and lava pools facing N/NW. That side of the island takes the full Atlantic groundswell, so it only opens in summer calms, on a small N/NW swell and a light wind at the main pools. Those pools are a concessioned bathing area and the free Cachalote pools are a bathing area too; hunting is banned inside both, so you enter there and swim out to the lava reefs and tunnels to work sargo and passing pelagics. National DGRM rules apply: licence from 16, apnea only, daylight only, Alfa buoy within 30 m. Deep, exposed water on an open coast means this is not a place to dive alone.

TL;DR

  • Porto Moniz is the exposed north face of Madeira: everything looks N/NW straight into Atlantic groundswell, so you dive it in summer calms or not at all.
  • The natural pools are entry points, not hunting ground. You can't fire inside the bathing pools, so you use them to slip past the lava and hunt the reef outside, well clear of swimmers.
  • Window at the main pools: N/NW swell under about 0.8 to 1 m and light wind, best May to September. Cachalote wants it flatter still; Ribeira da Janela is Madona, a surf reef that only opens on a rare dead calm, so scout from land and never dive it solo.
  • National DGRM rules apply, with Madeira's own specifics worth confirming: licence from 16, apnea only, daylight only, Alfa buoy within 30 m; grouper and mero protected, meagre closed through June.

Best spearfishing entries in Porto Moniz

None of these is a soft beach. All three are volcanic entries on an exposed north coast, and the pools are bathing zones where you can't fire, so you use them to reach the reef outside. Piscinas Naturais do Porto Moniz is the concessioned, lifeguarded fallback with a car park and steps. Cachalote is the free pools next door, quieter but rated red for the raw lava entry. Ribeira da Janela is a scout-only Madona break, spectacular and no place for a casual swim.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
Piscinas Naturais do Porto MonizConcessioned lava-pool bathing complex (main vila)Calm inside the pools; the reef drops off fast just past the breakwatersIntermediate, calm-day fallbackStraight off the EN101 in town, big car park, steps and ramps to the water, with changing rooms, a shower and a bathing-season lifeguard.You can't fire inside the pools, so this is a gateway: get past the breakwaters to the lava reef and tunnels and hunt well away from swimmers. The catch is the entry itself, where a surging wave over the lava platform throws you onto sharp rock and can pin you in the pool. Go on that small-swell window at mid to high tide, when the sharp rock is covered.
Piscinas Naturais do Aquario (Cachalote)Free lava pools, east end of the bayShallow in the lava pockets; open ocean deepens quickly past the ridgeAdvanced, high solo risk (red)At the town entrance on your right facing the sea, free and open around the clock, a walk down from the road; supervised in bathing season.Free and less crowded than the paid complex, and staffed by a lifeguard in season, but rated red for a reason: the wild entry over sharp black lava wants an even flatter sea than the main pools, and a sudden wave on the ledge can cut you or trap you against the rock. Hunting inside the pools is off the table here too.
Ilheus da Ribeira da JanelaExposed pebble beach and sea stacks at a river mouthShallow reef-and-boulder entry; the islets sit about 200 m offshoreAdvanced, land-scout only (red)About 2 km east on the EN101 toward Seixal, free parking by the beach, rock-cut steps down to the black pebble shore.This is Madona, a documented surf reef: a powerful left over rock, a nasty shorebreak on the sharp pebble entry and current running around the islets. It only comes in on a rare dead calm with minimal N/NW swell and a S/SW offshore wind, so read it from land first and don't dive it solo without someone local.

When can you spearfish in Porto Moniz?

Summer, and really only summer. This is the exposed north face of Madeira, so the whole coast lives on the N/NW swell, and May to September is when the Atlantic lies down enough to get in the water. The calmest mornings win, before the afternoon breeze fills in. At the main pools the number to watch is N/NW swell under about 0.8 to 1 m with light wind; above that, waves wash over the lava platforms and the entries close out. Cachalote wants the sea flatter still, and Ribeira da Janela only opens on a rare dead calm with a S/SW offshore wind. Mid to high tide covers the sharp rock at the pool entries, while low water leaves the platform slippery with algae. The water off this coast is warm and very clear, subtropical blue, with depth building fast off the rock.

Can you spearfish inside the natural pools?

No. The paid pools in the vila are a concessioned bathing area, and the free Cachalote pools at the town entrance are a bathing area too, and firing a gun inside either is off the table. What they're good for is access. You enter over the lava, swim out past the breakwaters and ridges, and hunt the reef and lava tunnels beyond, keeping well clear of swimmers. Treat the pools as the door, not the room. Ribeira da Janela is the opposite problem: few people, but a Madona break where the risk is the sea itself, not the rules.

What fish and rules apply in Porto Moniz?

It fishes as blue-water island ground: sargo and other reef fish over the volcanic rock, with pelagics passing through when the north goes flat. The sizes below are the national DGRM figures for mainland Portugal, and Madeira can set its own regional specifics, so treat them as the baseline to confirm. White seabream is 17 cm, sea bass 36 cm, gilthead 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm, and octopus 750 g; meagre (corvina) is 42 cm and closed nationwide through June. Grouper and mero are fully protected, so leave them. You need a spearfishing licence from age 16, it's apnea only, daylight only, and the Alfa flag buoy stays within 30 m of you.

FAQ

Where can you spearfish in Porto Moniz?

Enter at the Piscinas Naturais do Porto Moniz or the free Cachalote pools and swim out to the lava reef beyond, since hunting is banned inside the pools themselves. Ribeira da Janela is a scout-only surf reef, not a casual entry.

Is it safe to dive Porto Moniz?

Only in a summer calm. It's the exposed north coast of Madeira, so you want a small N/NW swell and light wind at the main pools, and Cachalote and Ribeira need it flatter still. Not a place to dive alone.

When is the sea calm enough at Porto Moniz?

Mostly May to September, on the flat mornings before the afternoon breeze. Once N/NW swell is over the metre-or-so mark the waves break over the lava and the entries close out.

Do I need a licence to spearfish here?

Yes. A Portuguese spearfishing licence from age 16, apnea only, daylight only, with an Alfa buoy within 30 m. Grouper and mero are protected, and Madeira may set its own regional details worth checking.

Can you hunt at Ribeira da Janela?

It's Madona, a break with a dangerous entry and current around the islets. Scout it from land and don't dive it solo without a local guide; it only opens on a rare dead calm.

Sources

Region: Madeira

Nearby towns

Coming soon

Get the go / no-go verdict for Porto Moniz by email

Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Porto Moniz, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.

Optional: city, channel, phone
What to send
Where to send it
26 countries · all spots

Pick your coast

Every covered town has its own live forecast, cameras and entry points. Choose where you're diving.

PortugalPortugal

Portugal map →

SpainSpain

Spain map →

ItalyItaly

Italy map →

GreeceGreece

Greece map →

FranceFrance

France map →

TurkeyTurkey

Turkey map →

North Aegean

Central Black Sea

CroatiaCroatia

Croatia map →

CyprusCyprus

Cyprus map →

MaltaMalta

Malta map →

BrazilBrazil

Brazil map →

ChileChile

Chile map →

ColombiaColombia

Colombia map →

VenezuelaVenezuela

Venezuela map →

Central Caribbean (Venezuela)

EcuadorEcuador

Ecuador map →

MexicoMexico

Mexico map →

BahamasBahamas

Bahamas map →

New Providence

San Salvador

Cat Island

Dominican RepublicDominican Republic

Dominican Rep. map →

Puerto RicoPuerto Rico

Puerto Rico map →

Islands (Puerto Rico)

PeruPeru

Peru map →

UruguayUruguay

Uruguay map →

ArgentinaArgentina

Argentina map →

Tierra del Fuego

AustraliaAustralia

Australia map →

SA Limestone Coast (Bonney)

WA South Coast (Great Southern)

WA Mid-West (Geraldton–Kalbarri)

WA North (Ningaloo–Kimberley)

New ZealandNew Zealand

New Zealand map →

East Cape / Gisborne

Hawke's Bay

Taranaki & Western NI

Wellington & Cook Strait

Nelson & Marlborough Sounds

Canterbury & Banks Peninsula

West Coast (South Island)

South AfricaSouth Africa

South Africa map →

United StatesUnited States

USA map →

PhilippinesPhilippines

Philippines map →
Feedback

Help us make it better

What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.