RodaderoSanta Marta
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Tourist bay to the south, rock and sand 0–10 m; urban entry, variable viz. Coords approx.
Google MapsSanta Marta spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.2
wave 1.1 m
visibility2m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 12:36
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 12:36
Santa Marta — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.1 m + hitting the shore
wave 1.1 mwind 23, gusts 52 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~3 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 3 m · Water 27.3°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 · today2026-07-22
05:42–18:23 · first quarter
▼ 02:00▲ 06:00▼ 11:00▲ 19:00 · 0.3 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.12 m
Wave1.12 m
Wind27 km/h
Water27 °C
fish activity: moon underfoot 06:20 · high · moonrise 12:54 · moderate · moon overhead 18:50 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 1.14 mperiod 5.8 swind 23→52surge 3viz 2 m
1.14 mup to ~2.28 · 18° at an angle
5.8 sswell moderate
23→52gusts 52 km/h
3pounding the rocks
0.36m/s
2 mrecent swell
27.3°C5 mm + hood
▲19:00tide rising
Atmosphere16 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.1 m + hitting the shore
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
confidence mediumday
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
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.
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
- lionfish✅ The only clearly-legal speargun target (Res 0549/2022 Art.5 — invasive/exotic). Culling encouraged (Armada + CORALINA). Edible; venomous spines — careful.
- snapper❓ The legality of spearing native species in Colombia is not confirmed in text (grey zone). Res 0549/2022 only authorises the speargun for invasives. Check AUNAP rules; in MPAs/Seaflower — banned.
- king/Spanish mackerel❓ The legality of spearing native species in Colombia is not confirmed in text (grey zone). Res 0549/2022 only authorises the speargun for invasives. Check AUNAP rules; in MPAs/Seaflower — banned.
- jack / trevally❓ The legality of spearing native species in Colombia is not confirmed in text (grey zone). Res 0549/2022 only authorises the speargun for invasives. Check AUNAP rules; in MPAs/Seaflower — banned.
- snook❓ The legality of spearing native species in Colombia is not confirmed in text (grey zone). Res 0549/2022 only authorises the speargun for invasives. Check AUNAP rules; in MPAs/Seaflower — banned.
- great barracuda❓ Native species — grey zone (see AUNAP). Large individuals — ciguatera risk.
- mahi-mahi❓ The legality of spearing native species in Colombia is not confirmed in text (grey zone). Res 0549/2022 only authorises the speargun for invasives. Check AUNAP rules; in MPAs/Seaflower — banned.
- Nassau grouper⚠️ On Colombia's Red List (EN/CR). No formal ban, but please release it.
- goliath grouper⚠️ On Colombia's Red List (EN/CR). No formal ban, but please release it.
Law
- ✓AUNAP sport-fishing permit (personal, non-commercial). KEY: the speargun is legal ONLY for exotic/introduced species → lionfish is the clearly legal target; for native species legality is a grey zone (consult AUNAP). Apnea, one band speargun, no night, no scuba.
- ✓PNN Tayrona (next to Santa Marta) = no-take: fishing banned since 1959, and additionally closed in Feb 2026. Spearing there is prohibited.
- ⛔ 🚫 Parrotfish (Scaridae) and surgeonfish — banned in San Andrés/Seaflower (CORALINA Res 369/2019). Don't shoot.
- ⛔ 🚫 Sharks and rays — directed take banned (Res AUNAP 0744/2012, 190/2013, 01743/2017). Release.
- ⛔ ⚠️ Goliath (E. itajara, CR) and Nassau grouper (E. striatus, EN) — Red List; release.
- ⛔ Queen conch (Lobatus gigas) and spiny lobster (Panulirus) — closed season + size, by hand only, no speargun; conch export banned.
- ⛔ 🚫 In (PNN Tayrona, Corales del Rosario, Malpelo, Gorgona, Utría, Old Providence) and across Seaflower, spearguns are BANNED for tourists.
Rules change. Before heading out, get the AUNAP sport-fishing permit; with a speargun the lionfish is the only clearly legal target — for natives consult AUNAP. PNN Tayrona is no-take.
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 Santa Marta: spots, seasons and rules
Santa Marta is not a place to treat spearfishing as an open reef hunt. The legal line is narrow: with an AUNAP sport-fishing permit, the speargun is clearly authorised for exotic or introduced species, which makes lionfish the clean target. For native snapper, mackerel, jacks, snook, barracuda and mahi-mahi, the available wording does not confirm a general speargun right, so treat them as a grey zone and ask AUNAP before shooting. Locally, Rodadero is the named urban sector: a tourist bay south of town with rock and sand in 0 to 10 m and variable visibility. PNN Tayrona, next to the city, is out of bounds for spearing.
TL;DR
- Santa Marta is a logistics base for the coast, but the only named urban spearfishing sector here is Rodadero.
- The Santa Marta-Tayrona upwelling from December to March can bring clearer, colder water; the port and river mouths can add local turbidity.
- Colombia's clean speargun target is lionfish. Native fish remain a legal grey zone unless AUNAP confirms otherwise.
- Do not spear inside PNN Tayrona. It is no-take, with fishing banned since 1959 and an additional closure recorded in February 2026.
Best spearfishing spots in Santa Marta
The honest list is short. Santa Marta anchors Taganga, Tayrona and Rodadero logistically, but this article only has one concrete named sector: Rodadero. Any boat or shore plan farther north has to stay outside the marine polygons of PNN Tayrona and needs a clear legal answer on target species before the gun is loaded.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodadero | Tourist bay with rock and sand | 0 to 10 m | Accessible, with variable visibility | Urban entry south of Santa Marta | A practical short-session option when the water is clean. Beach traffic, local turbidity and the legal lionfish-only clarity all matter. Carry a visible float and do not treat native reef fish as automatically legal targets. |
Spearfishing Santa Marta conditions today
Santa Marta's water can change quickly because several forces meet there. The December to March upwelling around Santa Marta-Tayrona can cool and clear the bays. The port, river mouths and local runoff can do the opposite, especially close to town. The coast is relatively sheltered, but north and northwest swell is the direction to respect. If Rodadero is green or loaded with sediment, driving toward the park boundary is not a legal or practical shortcut.
Underwater visibility in Santa Marta today
Visibility is a day call. Check swell, wind and recent rain, then ask locally about port and river influence. During upwelling season the water may be clearer but colder, with layers that make the first few metres misleading. For lionfish work, visibility needs to be good enough to identify the fish before the shot. If you cannot confirm the species, you do not have the legal clarity this coastline requires.
Tayrona national park spearfishing allowed
No. PNN Tayrona is the central local boundary. Fishing has been banned there since 1959, and an additional closure was recorded in February 2026. The fact that Santa Marta is the access city for Tayrona does not make Tayrona a spearfishing area. Before joining any trip sold as a northern-cove session, ask for the exact location and keep it outside the protected polygons.
Lionfish Santa Marta season
Lionfish is present year-round and is the clearest speargun target under the Colombian framing. It is invasive, culling is encouraged, and it is edible, but the venomous spines need careful handling. This is selective diving rather than broad hunting: look on rock, ledges and structure, identify the fish, then take only the shot you meant to take. Native fish are a separate legal question.
Do you need an AUNAP permit for spearfishing?
Yes. AUNAP sport-fishing rules is an AUNAP sport-fishing permit, personal and non-commercial. It also frames speargun use as apnea, one band speargun, no night diving and no scuba. The key limit is the species rule: exotic or introduced species are the clear lane, so lionfish is safe to describe as legal. Native fish should not be presented as legal without direct AUNAP confirmation. Sharks and rays are directed-take bans; goliath and Nassau grouper should be released because of their conservation status.
FAQ
Where can you spearfish in Santa Marta?
Rodadero is the named urban sector. Any trip farther north must stay outside PNN Tayrona and should be checked with AUNAP or a local club.
What is the underwater visibility in Santa Marta today?
It depends on upwelling, swell, rain, the port and river mouths. December to March can bring clearer, colder water in bays.
What fish can you spear in Santa Marta?
Lionfish is the clearly legal speargun target. Native fish such as snapper and jacks remain a grey zone unless AUNAP confirms the case.
Can you spearfish in Tayrona national park?
No. PNN Tayrona is no-take for this activity, with fishing banned since 1959 and an additional closure recorded in February 2026.
Do you need an AUNAP permit for spearfishing?
Yes. AUNAP sport-fishing rules is a personal, non-commercial AUNAP sport-fishing permit, with apnea and one band speargun.
Can you spear snapper or only lionfish?
Lionfish is the clear legal target. Snapper and other native species are not confirmed by the available wording and should be treated as a grey zone.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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