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
calmupdated 11:44
Póvoa de Varzim — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
wave 1.4 m head-onwind 16, gusts 31 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 16.9°C
confidence medium · 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.
Wednesday · today2026-09-09
07:09–19:54 · new moon
▲ 02:00▼ 08:00▲ 14:00▼ 20:00 · 2.9 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.80 m
Wave1.46 m
Wind6 km/h
Water16 °C
fish activity: moonrise 05:01 · moderate · moon overhead 12:10 · high · moonset 19:07 · moderate · moon underfoot 00:00 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish ·
Hs 1.38 m · roughperiod 7.1 s head-onwind 16→31surge 7.9viz 1 m
1.38 mrough · up to ~2.76 · 312° head-on
7.1 sswell moderate
16→31gusts 31 km/h
7.9pounding the rocks
0.25m/s
1 mrecent swell
16.9°C5 mm + hood
▲14:00tide turn near
Atmosphere37 kmlandmarks visible
highmoon overhead
wave 1.4 m (occasionally up to ~2.8 m)
steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
Early morning only, before bathers and traffic — this is a busy urban beach. Best viz late spring to autumn. Daylight only.
tide
Low-to-mid tide exposes the centre and south rocks and the embedded old ruins — structure that holds fish; watch the exit rocks at low water.
shelter
Rock formations in the centre and south of the beach give some structure and break the wave in places, but this is an open urban seafront with no real shelter from NW swell.
conditions
Only on a small, clean swell on a calm day, working the centre/south rocks. The north end is clean sand (no hunting interest) and takes less wave.
hazard
Busy Blue-Flag swimming beach: in summer hunting in the bathing zone is banned and a genuine conflict with swimmers; plus shorebreak onto the centre/south rocks and embedded ruins as swell builds.
access
Access from Avenida Vasco da Gama or Avenida dos Banhos, right in the town centre; enter off the sand toward the centre/south rocks.
Urban beach — handy for a scout and breath-hold training, but secondary as a hunting entry; in summer avoid the bathing zone and stay outside 50 m of swimmers.
Early morning before the thermal wind builds; best viz late spring to autumn (cold Costa Verde water). Daylight only — night spearfishing is banned.
tide
Low-to-mid tide opens up the rock clusters and reef; the rich tide-pool life is exposed at low water. Avoid a low-tide bottom with swell against the exit rocks.
shelter
Rock clusters break the swell into four small coves of calmer water and give some lee from a southerly wind behind the outcrops. There is no real shelter from the dominant NW Atlantic swell on this open coast.
conditions
Only on a small, clean swell (roughly <1 m) on a settled, light-wind day when the coves lie down. On any working swell the surge and shorebreak make it unworkable.
hazard
Rip currents along the rock fingers and shorebreak onto the exit rocks as swell builds are the dominant danger; on this cold, open Atlantic it is easy to overcommit. Time entries and exits to the lull between sets.
access
Drop in via Rua da Praia do Quião or Rua do Sargaceiro; park by the beach and enter off the sand between rock fingers into a calmer cove.
The wildest, least-crowded stretch of the Póvoa coast, south of Cabo de Santo André; traditional seaweed harvesting. Stay outside 50 m of the supervised swimming zone (summer: Jun 15 – Sep 15).
Cabo de Santo André / Praia de Dois CabosAver-o-Mar
dangerous
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Daylight only, in the calmest window (usually early morning). Cold Costa Verde water — best viz late spring to autumn.
tide
Low water exposes the most reef structure of the cape but also worsens the shorebreak and entrapment risk against the rocks; mid-tide on the flood is safer for the exit.
shelter
Essentially none: the granitic-gneiss cape is the most prominent, exposed structure on the coast and catches swell from every westerly direction. The tiny Dois Cabos beach is wedged between the large rocks of the cape.
conditions
Only in a rare window of very small, flat swell and light wind. This is a scout spot — on any working swell the cape is no place for a solo entry.
hazard
Entrapment against the cape rocks as swell builds and strong currents around the prominent point — a lethal scenario solo. A rising set cuts off the rock exit. Scout from land first.
access
On foot along the coastal marginal between Quião and Fragosinho to the cape rocks; enter off the tiny Dois Cabos beach between the large rocks. No easy exit — plan your retreat.
The best hard-bottom structure for sargo/robalo in the whole area, but also the most dangerous; the exact entry point is undocumented — scout from land first.
Early morning before the wind and before the fishing boats head out; best viz late spring to autumn. Daylight only.
tide
Mid-tide — the rocky flanks work as shelter and the sand entry stays clean; at a big low the end rocks are exposed. Entering on the flood is calmer.
shelter
Two rocky flanks form a cove (the old Portinho da Fragosa) with notably calmer water — the best natural shelter on this coast. From a direct NW swell the flanks only partly protect.
conditions
The most forgiving window in the area: the cove stays workable on small-to-moderate swell when the open coast has shut down. Still avoid big NW sets that wrap into the cove mouth.
hazard
Active fishing-boat traffic through the cove mouth (a historic fishing portinho) — fly a dive float and never surface in the channel. Plus shorebreak onto the rocky flanks as swell builds.
access
Drop in via Avenida dos Pescadores or Rua do Agro Velho; park in the northern section and enter off the sand inside the cove between the rocky flanks.
The most sheltered entry in the area and therefore the best plan B; in summer it is a supervised beach (Jun 15 – Sep 15), stay outside 50 m of the swimming zone and watch for boats.
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.
In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Octopus, Mullet
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).
Polvo (octopus)
1–6 m · high water · twilight
Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
Tainha (mullet)
0–2 m · — · —
Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
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, daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required. (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º + 12.º-A; fees in , .) There is no minimum age for the licence, but under-16s are exempt from holding one when fishing accompanied by a licence holder (art. 12.º n.º 2 al. b).
✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º n.º 1; ).
✓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 (, art. 8.º/3 + 3.º/5; DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d).
✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver (, art. 4.º/2).
✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg (, art. 12.º/1).
✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too (, ; table).
✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g ( + EU Reg. 2019/1241; minimum-size table).
✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken (
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 · Póvoa de Varzim
Spearfishing in Póvoa de Varzim: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in Póvoa de Varzim is about the rocky fingers north of the marina, not the whole urban beach front. Praia do Quião is the best listed entry, with small coves and rock structure. Fragosinho is the more sheltered fallback by the old fishing cove. Praia Verde is useful for early scouting or training, but crowded. Cabo de Santo André has strong structure, yet it is red/scout and not a recommendation.
TL;DR
Póvoa de Varzim is exposed west-facing coast with sand, rock fields and swell-dependent visibility.
Quião is the strongest listed entry; Fragosinho is the sheltered plan B; Praia Verde is urban and secondary.
Cabo de Santo André is red/scout, so it is excluded despite its hard-bottom structure.
Best spearfishing spots in Póvoa de Varzim
Only yellow, non-scout entries are listed. All need small clean swell and distance from bathing zones.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Praia do Quião
Rock fingers and small coves
Shallow to mid rocky fingers
Intermediate to advanced
Rua da Praia do Quião or Rua do Sargaceiro, parking by the beach
Wildest and least crowded listed entry. Good for sargo and bass on small swell, with exits timed between sets.
Praia do Fragosinho (Farol)
Cove between rocky flanks
Shallow to mid at the mouth and sides
Intermediate
Avenida dos Pescadores or Rua do Agro Velho, enter from the sand inside the cove
Most sheltered local fallback. Watch fishing boats through the cove mouth and shorebreak on the flanks.
Praia Verde
Urban beach with rock outcrops
Shallow centre and south rocks
Intermediate in calm water
Avenida Vasco da Gama or Avenida dos Banhos, enter from sand toward the rocks
Secondary hunting entry, useful for early scouting. Avoid the bathing zone completely in summer.
When are Póvoa conditions worth it?
Aim for late spring to autumn, early morning, light wind and clean swell below about 1 m. Quião needs the small coves to settle; Fragosinho can be more forgiving because of its rocky flanks; Praia Verde only makes sense when the beach is quiet. Low to mid tide reveals rock, but exits get sharper if sets are running. Cabo de Santo André is excluded because red/scout means rock entrapment, current around the point and no easy retreat.
✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
✓Distances between people: at least 20 m from another spearfisher (, art. 6.º n.º 3) unless you agree otherwise; from a boat, 50 m from other vessels, divers and set gear (art. 6.º n.º 2); every vessel must keep 50 m from your signalling buoy and from boats flying flag Alfa (art. 7.º n.º 6). The figure that circulates — «30 m between hunters» — is wrong: 30 m is the distance to YOUR OWN buoy.
✓What you may take into the water: the CAPTURE gear on a spearfishing dive is the speargun, a shellfish knife, a gaff (puxeiro) and an arrelhada (, art. 3.º n.º 3). That is not a ban on everything else: art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows equipment for cold protection, for buoyancy, for protection or safety and for carrying the catch, and any other equipment that does not permit the direct capture of specimens. Bait and groundbait are PROHIBITED in spearfishing (art. 5.º n.º 3). You may not carry or keep a speargun and a breathing apparatus aboard at the same time, nor carry the gun ready to fire out of the water or in a zone where spearfishing is banned (art. 3.º n.º 6). On any recreational-fishing boat the whole crew wears a lifejacket (art. 4.º n.º 3).
✓Where recreational fishing is closed altogether (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard zones (no exception) and in aquaculture establishments — in the LATTER only, fishing is possible when the concession-holder or owner formally authorises it; the shipyard bar has no such carve-out; within 100 m of the mouth of any marked sewage outfall; over beach-concession waters, to the extent the POOC sets; and in other zones closed by the port or maritime authority. For spearfishing and boat fishing specifically (n.º 2) the navigation channels of port and river bars, the approach channels and the buoyed channels are closed. There is NO «300 m from the beach» rule on the mainland — that number comes from Madeira's own act; on the mainland the distance is set by the POOC and by the capitania's edital.
✓The border rivers Minho and Guadiana: spearfishing is BANNED along both international stretches — bilateral Portugal-Spain agreements, art. 9.º n.º 3 (Minho, RAR 34/2023, in force since 26-05-2023) and art. 6.º n.º 1 (Guadiana, RAR 173/2025, in force since 07-12-2025), both reading «É proibida a pesca submarina». On the Guadiana it is also a serious offence (art. 19.º), and a 100 m strip alongside the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is closed separately (art. 5.º). The stretches run from the confluence with the Trancoso / the Chança down to the closing line at each mouth.
✓On the other Portuguese-Spanish border river stretches (outside the TIRM and the Guadiana maritime-jurisdiction zone) — Decreto 30/88, art. 6.º n.º 1: harpoons, gigs, tridents and any blunt instrument used to take fish are prohibited (al. e), as is «a pesca ou caça subaquática» with artificial light, and night fishing (al. g).
Portugal
Spain