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 04:29
Exposed coast — Cabo Corrubedo — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 2.6 m (occasionally up to ~5.2 m)
wave 2.6 mwind 7 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 Galicia spearfishing is only allowed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, plus every day from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). On this cape the first light hours are the best, before the westerly sea breeze sets in.
tide
The tide is real here: around three and a half metres on springs and close to one metre eighty on neaps. Low water uncovers slabs and shallow heads off the lighthouse that you swim over unaware at high tide, and the outgoing water drags beach sand seawards.
shelter
The cape looks west-southwest with open ocean in front, so NW and W swell lands unbroken on the slabs below the lighthouse. The bad sector runs from 220° to 300°, worst near 280°. Only a northeasterly (30°-60°) helps, blowing off the land and flattening the surface.
conditions
With a low ground swell and a light easterly the water opens up and you can pick out sand patches between the rocks. What kills it is surge stirring the sand off the Corrubedo dunes, and in summer the upwelling: a steady northeasterly brings up cold green water and visibility drops within hours.
hazard
This is a rough headland: current wraps around the point and the swell breaks over heads you barely see, so with more than a metre of ground swell stay out. Keep the national rules in mind: freediving only, a marker buoy you never leave by more than 25 m, gun unloaded out of the water, and no night diving between sunset and sunrise.
access
Park by the road to the Corrubedo lighthouse and walk the track down to the granite slabs on the south side, the only place you get in without jumping. The north side, towards the dune beach, is no place to exit when there is swell: the wave closes against the rock. Reckon on a few hundred metres of swimming to the outer stones.
Sandy-rocky cape very exposed to the west; sea bream and sea bass, only in calm seas.
First the Galician calendar: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and daily from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and between 1 May and 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). At Aguiño there is a second reason to start early: by mid-morning the port is in full swing and boat traffic picks up.
tide
This is the mouth of the Ría de Arousa, about three and a half metres of range on springs, and here the tide shows up as current more than as height: on the ebb the water pulls seaward and drags mud off the shellfish banks. The flood brings cleaner outside water in, and that is the good window.
shelter
The Aguiño stretch faces southwest, towards the mouth of the ría, and the outer stones take the 220°-300° arc head on, with the messiest sea at 280°. The islets and shoals in front break part of the swell, so close inshore it is always a bit tamer than out on the open point.
conditions
The bottom mixes rock with tongues of sand, and it is that sand which clouds the water as soon as there is any shore break. On flat days with a filling tide the visibility is reasonable; with a long northeasterly the cold upwelled water arrives and everything turns green and chilly at once, often within the same morning.
hazard
Barely three kilometres to the southwest lies Sálvora, inside the Illas Atlánticas National Park, where spearfishing is banned with no exceptions; this spot is outside, but the boundary runs over water and you will not see it, so do not cross towards the island. There are also mussel rafts and shellfishing boats: keep the 300 m from working professional vessels.
access
The easy way is to leave the car in Aguiño village and walk down to the stones west of the harbour, keeping clear of the entrance and the manoeuvring area. You get in over the low slabs and come out the same way; with a running sea the only decent exit is the sandy ramp of the little beach next door, because the rock becomes impossible.
Rocky point at Aguiño; rock-and-sand bottom, exposed to the SW.
The Galician calendar is compulsory: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and every day between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). In season the cove fills with swimmers around midday, so the sensible window is early morning or late afternoon, always before sunset.
tide
With the long three and a half metres of springs the cove changes face: at low water a broad tongue of sand is exposed and the northern rock dries out, while at high water the sea reaches the foot of the crags and the break slams straight into them. For a comfortable entry and exit, aim for mid-tide on the flood.
shelter
It is a cove on the Atlantic front of Barbanza with rock at both ends, and those arms cut a good deal of the short wind chop; what they do not filter is the long westerly ground swell, which walks straight into the middle. With the 220°-300° sector loaded it breaks along the whole shoreline, and only an easterly land wind leaves it usable.
conditions
The water inside the cove goes cloudy on nothing: a metre of shore break is enough for the bottom sand to lift and leave you unable to see your own gun. With a low swell and several days without a storm it really clears and you work nicely along the rock at the ends. In high summer watch the upwelling, which brings cold green water from the north.
hazard
First comes the shore break: the beach is open and a big set will push you onto the southern rock without warning. Swim with the buoy clearly visible, because people fish from the sand and small boats pass close. And mind the pollack: from 1 January to 30 April it is catch and release only in the Atlantic, then 42 cm and two fish a day.
access
You get there on the coast road between Corrubedo and Xuño, with a dirt car park above and a short path through scrub down to the sand. The clean entry is through the middle of the beach, running between sets, and from there it is a couple of hundred metres out to the rocky ends. With any break, do not exit on the northern crags: there is nothing to hold.
Cove with rock at both ends; partial shelter, good with a low, long swell.
As everywhere in Galicia: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, plus daily from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Inside the ría the best moment is usually early, before the pleasure boats start up and the northeasterly ruffles the channel by mid-morning.
tide
Inside the ría the range is still big, around three and a half metres on springs, and here it shows up as flats that dry: at low water the seagrass and the sand shallows are almost out of the water and there is nowhere to get in. What works is high tide and the slack around it, when the current is not dragging mud out of the channel.
shelter
This point looks inwards into the Ría de Arousa beside Ribeira, with the whole Barbanza peninsula at its back blocking the southwest. Atlantic ground swell does not reach in here; the only thing that stirs it is the ría's own wind, above all a southerly blowing up the channel that raises a short, fussy chop.
conditions
The bottom is shallow rock fading into seagrass and mud, and the mud is the key: as soon as there is a bit of wind or boats pass, the water turns brown and you cannot see a metre. The good days are still-water days, with the ría calm and no recent rain, because river runoff also kills the visibility for several days.
hazard
Important data caveat: Anexo VI of Orden 17.09.2009 closes the inner waters of the rías with closing lines we do not have mapped, and this point lies inside the Ría de Arousa. Check the Arousa closing line before you go. Add mussel rafts, nurseries and shellfishing boats: keep 300 m from working vessels.
access
You reach it from the Ribeira seafront by track and path out to the point, with parking right by the shore and almost no descent: you walk in over the low rock or the sand beside it, no jumps, no surprises. It is a place to swim slowly along the boulder line; if the tide drops far, the walk out over the flat gets long.
Sheltered point inside the Ría de Arousa by Ribeira; shallow rock and seagrass in calm water.
The Galician rule comes first: Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only, plus daily from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). In practice the morning flood is the moment here, with the sun still low over the rock.
tide
Textbook Atlantic tide: about three and a half metres on springs. At low water rock steps appear at the foot of the lighthouse and you can walk in dry-shod, while at high water those same steps sit under a metre and a half. You feel the current when the tide runs towards the mouth of the Ría de Arousa.
shelter
The lighthouse point closes the southern tip of Barbanza and takes everything coming in from the southwest; the bad sector sits between 220° and 300°. With north and northeast winds it lies in the lee and the surface goes glassy, but westerly ground swell still wraps round the point even in no wind.
conditions
On flat days the visibility between the lighthouse boulders is decent, because the bottom is clean rock with little sand to stir. What ruins it is the backwash after two or three days of storm and, above all, the summer upwelling: with a steady northeasterly the water drops several degrees and turns milky by mid-morning.
hazard
Mind the park: Sálvora island, inside the Illas Atlánticas National Park, lies barely two kilometres to the southwest and spearfishing there is banned outright. This spot is outside it, but the boundary runs over open water and is invisible, so do not let yourself drift towards the island. And never at night: that is banned across Spain.
access
You drive to the lighthouse along the Punta Couso track and walk down over the rock from the viewpoint; a couple of natural ramps work as entries when the sea is calm. The good exit is the one you came in by, memorised: at high water the lower ledges vanish and become hard to find again.
Rocky ground by the lighthouse; entry off the rocks, moderately exposed to the SW.
In Galicia it is only allowed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and daily from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Here the sensible thing is to work around the tide rather than the clock, but the day ends at sunset: night diving is banned everywhere in Spain.
tide
On springs of over three metres the stream wrapping the point is genuinely noticeable: the water runs along the fingers of reef and shifts you without you realising. At low water a few heads sit awash that go unnoticed at high tide, and they are exactly what marks the good drop-off. Plan your session around slack.
shelter
Falcoeiro is the most forward headland on the Aguiño-to-Corrubedo stretch, and its fingers of reef run southwest with nothing shielding them. The whole 220°-300° arc hits it straight on and 280° makes it unworkable; the only relief comes with a northeasterly, when the wind leaves the land and smooths the surface over the reef.
conditions
The reef alternates weed-covered boulders with bald sand patches, and the wrasse and bream work exactly along that edge. The water cleans up after two or three days without sea; as soon as the swell returns, sand off the bald patches lifts and the edge disappears. In summer upwelling can knock the temperature down and turn the water green within hours.
hazard
The edge of the Illas Atlánticas National Park is barely two kilometres away: Sálvora sits opposite and within its protected waters spearfishing is completely off limits. This headland falls outside, yet on the water there is no marker at all, so watch your drift and do not let the point's stream carry you offshore.
access
There is no easy way down: you leave the car on a dirt track at the end of the houses and walk a while over gorse to reach the rock. The practical entry is a low ledge on the sheltered side of the headland, never on the west face, which is where the sea explodes. From there you follow the reef by swimming, with no need to go far out.
Rocky point on the Aguiño-to-Corrubedo stretch; mixed rock-and-sand reef with wrasse and bream.
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».
✓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.
Local guide · Ribeira
Spearfishing in Ribeira: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in Ribeira is controlled by the Ría de Arousa mouth and Atlantic exposure. Cabo Corrubedo is sandy-rocky, very exposed to the west and only for calm seas. Punta Couso and Aguiño work rocky ground with SW exposure. Praia de Castro has partial shelter, and Punta Cabio sits inside the ría. In Galicia you need Clase C, PE405A, age 16 and a medical certificate. Sálvora is inside Atlantic Islands National Park and is closed.
TL;DR
Ribeira is Rías Baixas Atlantic ground: Corrubedo faces west, Aguiño and Punta Couso face SW, and Punta Cabio sits inside the Ría de Arousa.
No numeric depths or safety ratings are in the fact sheet; the table keeps seabed and exposure qualitative.
Sálvora is inside the Atlantic Islands National Park, where spearfishing is banned.
Where can you spearfish in Ribeira?
The source gives seabed and exposure, not metre depths or safety scores. No spot has a stated difficulty level.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Cabo Corrubedo
Sandy-rocky cape
Rock and sand
-
-
Very exposed to the west; only in calm seas.
Punta Couso (faro de Ribeira)
Lighthouse rocky ground
Rock bottom
-
Entry off the rocks
Moderately exposed to the SW.
Aguiño / Punta Falcoeiro
Rocky point
Rock-and-sand bottom
-
-
Exposed to the SW; nearby Punta Falcoeiro names wrasse and bream.
Praia de Castro
Cove with rock at both ends
Rock at cove ends
-
-
Partial shelter; good with low, long swell.
Punta Cabio
Sheltered point inside Ría de Arousa
Shallow rock and seagrass
-
-
Sheltered, calm-water ground.
spearfishing conditions Ribeira today
The fact sheet marks Ribeira as Atlantic and upwelling coast, with W-SW as the bad sector. Corrubedo is very exposed to the west; Punta Couso and Aguiño face SW. Praia de Castro has partial shelter, while Punta Cabio is inside the ría. Check sea, wind and AEMET ES-C; no local buoy is listed.
✓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.
✓Galicia: «Clase C» licence (submarina), procedure PE405A on the Xunta portal; minimum age 16, medical certificate required. Galicia recognises spearfishing licences from other communities and the EU. sede.xunta.gal (PE405A).
✓No-take zone: Atlantic Islands National Park (Cíes, Ons, Sálvora, Cortegada) — spearfishing banned (see zones on the map).
✓Galicia is the only community that closes weekdays: spearfishing is allowed only on Saturdays, Sundays and state or regional holidays, and from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday and from 1 May to 30 September, every day (Orden 17.09.2009, art. 13.2). Daylight only, orto to ocaso (art. 13.3). The cap is 5 kg per licence per day, and 2 octopus per fisher per day (art. 12.3). The zones closed to spearfishing are listed in (art. 11.2). The licence needs an official medical fitness certificate, insurance and an arms licence or a federation card (art. 3.b).
⛔ 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.
spearfishing Sálvora Atlantic Islands national park rules
Sálvora is part of the Atlantic Islands National Park, together with Cíes, Ons and Cortegada. The Galicia legal block marks the park as a no-take area for spearfishing. For Ribeira, treat Sálvora as closed and check official boundaries if you are near the park edge.
how to get a spearfishing license in Galicia
Galicia uses the Clase C spearfishing license through PE405A on the Xunta portal. The source gives minimum age 16, medical certificate required, and recognition of spearfishing licenses from other autonomous communities and the EU. National rules still require freediving only, no scuba, daylight only, a visible buoy within 25 m and no loaded speargun out of the water.
spearfishing sea bass ballan wrasse Galicia
The Ribeira spots name sea bass at Cabo Corrubedo and wrasse with bream near Punta Falcoeiro. Cantabrian-NW sizes include European seabass 42 cm, gilthead 19 cm, black seabream 23 cm, grey mullet 20 cm, red porgy 15 cm, striped red mullet 15 cm, conger 58 cm and octopus 1 kg.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in Ribeira?
The fact sheet lists Cabo Corrubedo, Punta Couso, Aguiño / Punta Falcoeiro, Praia de Castro, Punta Falcoeiro and Punta Cabio. They are capes, points and coves with rock, sand or seagrass. No metre depths are given.
Can you spearfish around Sálvora island?
No. Sálvora is inside the Atlantic Islands National Park. The fact sheet marks spearfishing in that park as banned.
What fish can you spearfish in Ribeira?
The spot text names bream, sea bass and wrasse. The Cantabrian-NW list also includes gilthead, salema, bogue, black seabream, grey mullet, red porgy, octopus and conger.
Do I need a license to spearfish in Galicia?
Yes. Galicia uses the Clase C spearfishing license, procedure PE405A on the Xunta portal. The source gives minimum age 16 and a required medical certificate.
Is scuba spearfishing allowed in Spain?
No. Spanish national rules allow spearfishing only while freediving. Scuba and night spearfishing are prohibited.
Spain
