Caleta CancasPunta Sal
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Fishing cove N of Punta Sal; rocky point and sand, warm water. ⚠️Coords approx.
Google MapsPunta Sal spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
wave 1.3 m
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and noticeable surge.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 14:12
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
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 14:12
Punta Sal — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.5 m)
wave 1.3 mwind 27, gusts 45 km/hnoticeable surgevisibility ~3 m
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 24.7°C
confidence low · 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 · today2026-07-22
06:32–18:28 · first quarter
▼ 03:00▲ 09:00▼ 16:00▲ 22:00 · 0.9 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.61 m
Wave1.12 m
Wind20 km/h
Water25 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:46 · moderate · moon underfoot 06:50 · high · moonrise 12:58 · moderate · moon overhead 19:10 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.18 mperiod 10.2 s head-onwind 35→56surge 1.8viz 1 m
1.18 mup to ~2.36 · 235° head-on
10.2 sswell building
35→56gusts 56 km/h
1.8noticeable surge
0.11m/s
1 mrecent swell
24.9°C5 mm + hood
▼16:00tide falling
Atmosphere35 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.2 m (occasionally up to ~2.4 m)
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
- ebb — weaker inshore
confidence lowday
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 spotsThe 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
Arrecifes de Punta SalPunta Sal
closedswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Warm-water reef, a noted dive site; inside the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve — check the no-take core before taking. Coords approx.
Google MapsPeña Redonda (banco)Punta Sal
closedswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Offshore bank off Punta Sal, inside the Arrecifes de Punta Sal sector (RN Mar Tropical de Grau). Good dive site — respect the core zone. Coords approx.
Google MapsSOLO 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.
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →What's in season,
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- murique grouper
- flag cabrilla
- Peruvian gruntReproductive closure in December — don't take it that month. Sale of the catch banned.
- Pacific drumClosure in April — don't take it that month.
- Peruvian morwong
- fine flounder
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 Punta Sal: spots, seasons and rules
Punta Sal is Peru's warm-water corner, up in Tumbes, where golden sand gives way to clean reefs instead of the cold Humboldt green farther south. The headland shelters it from most of the prevailing SW swell, so it opens more days than the exposed coast around Los Órganos; a W-to-N swell, worst from the WNW, is what shuts it. The constraint here is legal: the Punta Sal reef and the Peña Redonda bank both fall inside no-take cores of the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve. Spearfishing needs a DICAPI diver card, 18+, apnea only.
TL;DR
- Punta Sal is Peru's warm tropical north, up in Tumbes: golden sand and clean reefs, warmer and clearer than the cold Humboldt coast down south.
- The headland shelters it from most of the prevailing SW groundswell, so it dives more often than the open coast around Los Órganos; a swell swinging round from the W to N is what shuts it.
- Two of the three marks, the Arrecifes de Punta Sal reef and the Peña Redonda bank, sit inside no-take cores of the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve, so verify the zoning before you take anything.
- Peru wants a DICAPI diver card or registration for spearfishing, 18+, apnea only; scuba with a speargun is banned.
Best spearfishing spots in Punta Sal
Three named marks, and they don't play the same. Arrecifes de Punta Sal is the shallow reef off the point, a known dive site but inside a no-take core. Peña Redonda is the deeper bank offshore, also inside the reserve sector. Caleta Cancas, the fishing cove up to the north, is the one our marks don't flag no-take. Coordinates here are approximate, so read the sector before you load.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrecifes de Punta Sal | Warm-water reef (Mar Tropical de Grau) | Shallow reef over the shoal, around 10 m | Intermediate, open coast | Off the Punta Sal point, from the beach | A noted dive site in clear, warm water, but it sits in a reserve no-take core. Check the zoning before you take anything: the SERNANP polygons here aren't verified yet, and the coordinates are approximate. |
| Peña Redonda (banco) | Offshore bank (reserve sector) | Deeper ground, dropping to about 15 m | Intermediate to advanced, offshore | By boat, offshore of Punta Sal | A good dive mark on the bank facing Punta Sal, inside the same Arrecifes de Punta Sal sector, so treat it as no-take until the core is confirmed. Deeper and further out, it wants a boat and a settled day. |
| Caleta Cancas | Rocky point and sand | Shallow inshore ground | Easier, shallow | Fishing cove north of Punta Sal (Cancas) | A working fishing cove north of the point, rock and sand in warm water, and the one mark here not flagged no-take. It's a live cove, so keep the float up for boats. Coordinates are approximate. |
When is the best time to spearfish in Punta Sal?
There's no single best month here. The north stays warm most of the year, so what makes or breaks a day is the wind and the swell. The headland does a lot of the work: it wraps the prevailing SW groundswell, which is why Punta Sal fishes on days the open coast around Los Órganos is washed out. What closes it is a swell out of the W to N, worst on the WNW line, when it hits the shore head-on. Pick a light wind and a small sea, and get in early.
How is the water and visibility at Punta Sal?
This is the clear, warm end of Peru, Tumbes water, closer to tropical than to the cold Humboldt green down the coast. On a good day it's some of the cleaner water in the country. It doesn't hold, though. A wind out of the SE to SSW drives upwelling here, and that both cools the water toward the reserve's cold marks around 19 to 21 °C and stirs sand off the bottom. Read the colour from the beach before you commit, and keep a float up: this is a dive and resort stretch with boat traffic.
Can you spearfish inside the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve?
Not without checking first. The Arrecifes de Punta Sal and the Peña Redonda bank both sit inside the Reserva Nacional Mar Tropical de Grau, created by D.S. 003-2024-MINAM, and both carry a no-take flag in our marks. The reserve isn't a blanket ban, but it has core no-take zones, and the exact polygons off Punta Sal aren't verified yet on the SERNANP map. So the honest rule is the one the rangers would give you: if you can't confirm the sector is open, don't load the gun. Caleta Cancas, north of the point, is the one mark here we don't flag no-take, but confirm it too.
Do you need a DICAPI diver card in Peru?
Yes, for spearfishing. General recreational fishing doesn't need a PRODUCE permit, but underwater hunting requires a DICAPI diver card or registration with the Coast Guard, and you have to be 18 or older. The other hard line: spearing on scuba is banned. Plan the day as breath-hold diving, with documents, a buddy and a float.
What fish can you spear around Punta Sal?
We don't have a catch log for these exact reefs, so treat the species as the northern warm-water set: murique grouper, cabrilla, chita, pintadilla, Pacific drum (lorna) and flounder over rock and reef. Two closures matter. Chita has a reproductive closure in December, with sale of the catch banned, and Pacific drum is closed in April. Seahorse, whale shark and manta ray are protected and off the list. And inside a reserve, a fish you can't identify, or one sitting in a core zone, is one you leave.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in Punta Sal?
The named marks are the Arrecifes de Punta Sal reef, the Peña Redonda bank offshore, and Caleta Cancas up to the north. The first two sit in no-take cores of the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve, so verify the zoning first.
Is the water warm at Punta Sal?
Usually, yes. This is the tropical Tumbes north, clearer and warmer than the Humboldt coast down south. But a SE-to-SSW upwelling wind can cool it toward 19 to 21 °C and cloud it, so check before you go.
Do you need a licence to spearfish in Peru?
Spearfishing needs a DICAPI diver card or registration, 18+. Recreational rod fishing doesn't need a PRODUCE permit, but spearing on scuba is banned, apnea only.
Can you fish inside the Mar Tropical de Grau reserve?
Only after checking the zoning. The reserve has core no-take zones, and the Punta Sal reef and Peña Redonda bank fall inside its sector. If the sector isn't confirmed open, don't take.
What fish are there around Punta Sal?
The northern warm-water species: murique grouper, cabrilla, chita, pintadilla, Pacific drum and flounder. Chita is closed in December and Pacific drum in April; seahorse, whale shark and manta ray are protected.
When is the best time to dive Punta Sal?
No fixed season, the north is warm most of the year. Aim for a light wind and a small W-to-N swell, since a sea wrapping in from that quarter is what closes the coast.
Sources
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