Maresias costãoSão Sebastião
borderlinein the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
São Sebastião spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
8.2
wave 0.6 m
visibility5m
Dive today — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:58
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 13:58
São Sebastião — solo, off the rocks
best weather window · solo, stay careful, run the checklist · calm conditions: swell, wind and visibility all normal
wave 0.6 mwind 5 km/hvisibility ~8 mwindow 12:00–18:00
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 8 m · Water 22.1°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
06:42–17:35 · first quarter
▼ 02:00▲ 07:00▲ 12:00▼ 15:00▲ 19:00 · 0.4 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.04 m
Wave0.56 m
Wind4 km/h
Water22 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:49 · moderate · moon underfoot 06:20 · high · moonrise 11:59 · moderate · moon overhead 18:50 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.58 mperiod 8.2 swind 10→35surge 0.7viz 5 m
0.58 mup to ~1.16 · 182° at an angle
8.2 sswell moderate
10→35gusts 35 km/h
0.7weak surge
0.00m/s
5 mrecent swell
21.9°C5 mm + hood
▼15:00tide turn near
Atmosphere28 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- strong wind 10 km/h, gusts 35 — caution
- 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
Toque-Toque PequenoSão Sebastião
borderlinein the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
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
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».
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- fat snookState closed seasons: BA 15 May–31 Jul; ES 1 May–30 Jun; PR 1 Nov–31 Dec; SP — none.
- common snookState closed seasons: BA 15 May–31 Jul; ES 1 May–30 Jun; PR 1 Nov–31 Dec; SP — none.
- dusky grouper⚠️ Closed season 1 Nov–28 Feb (national). Size 47–73 cm. Vulnerable — go easy.
- gag grouper
- black grouper
- comb grouper
- snowy grouper⚠️ Closed 1 Sep–31 Oct (SE/S). Deepwater grouper.
- bluefish
- whitemouth croaker
- black drum
- lebranche mulletManaged by annual quotas/seasons. Min 35 cm; estuary bars may be restricted in season.
- king mackerel
- serra Spanish mackerel
- mahi-mahi
- greater amberjack
- crevalle jack
- silver porgy
- lionfishInvasive, spreading in NE Brazil. Culling encouraged. Venomous spines — careful; flesh edible.
- Atlantic goliath grouper🚫 Full moratorium since 2002, indefinite (CR, Portaria MMA 148/2022). Do not take, release it. Fine R$700–100,000 + gear seizure.
Law
- ✓A is required (category B – boat covers apnea spearfishing), issued on gov.br by the . Exempt: under-18 accompanied, men 65+/women 60+.
- ✓Apnea only: spearing on a tank/scuba is banned (artificial breathing apparatus prohibited — IBAMA rule).
- ✓Goliath grouper (mero, Epinephelus itajara): total moratorium since 2002, renewed (in force 2026+). Never a legal target — capture/transport/sale is an environmental offence.
- ✓Closed seasons (vary by state): true grouper & badejo in the N/NE 1 Aug–30 Sep; bluefish in the S/SE ~1 Dec–31 Mar; robalo reopens after 31 Jul (state-dependent). Mind minimum sizes.
- ⛔ 🚫 Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) — indefinite moratorium (CR). Not a legal target: do not take, release.
- ⛔ Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini/zygaena) and angel sharks (Squatina spp.) — red list, take banned. Don't shoot.
- ⛔ Sea turtles, whales/dolphins, seahorses — protected, taking/disturbing prohibited.
Rules change and vary by state. Before heading out, check on gov.br (recreational licence, MPA) and the state closed seasons/sizes; apnea only, goliath grouper is banned.
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 São Sebastião: spots, seasons and rules
São Sebastião has one trap: the channel facing Ilhabela looks sheltered, but it carries ships, ferries and Petrobras oil-terminal traffic. Spearfishing belongs on the outer headlands, including Maresias, Toque-Toque Pequeno and Boiçucanga. The stated local band is 8 to 20 m visibility and 20 to 26 °C water, best in summer. Grouper, sand perch and snook are the local targets, subject to sizes and closed seasons. MERO TOTAL MORATORIUM applies nationwide. Use the gov.br recreational licence, with an exemption only for accompanied under-18s and men 65+/women 60+, and keep spearfishing apnea-only.
TL;DR
- São Sebastião should be planned outside the ship channel: Maresias, Toque-Toque and Boiçucanga are the useful pattern.
- Seaward headlands have stated 8 to 20 m visibility and 20 to 26 °C water, best in summer.
- The channel has heavy ship traffic and the Petrobras oil terminal, so keep a bright float on outer rocks.
Best spearfishing spots in São Sebastião
Distance from the navigation channel is the main filter. Choose outer rocks, not channel water, and keep the float visible to fast boats.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maresias headland | Open-sea granite rock | Shallow to moderate | Intermediate | Shore entry outside swimmer areas | A summer clear-water option, but east swell and rough rock exits should cancel the dive. |
| Toque-Toque Pequeno | Outer rocky point | Shallow to moderate | Intermediate | Shore entry with a planned return route | Use it as an outer-coast dive, not a channel crossing. Boat visibility matters. |
What conditions matter in São Sebastião?
Summer is the stated better season, with water around 20 to 26 °C and outer-headland visibility from 8 to 20 m. The ferry-line camera can hint at wind and channel traffic, but the rock entry decides the dive. East or northeast sea on the stones is a stop signal. Nationally, the licence is required, scuba spearing is banned, and goliath grouper remains fully off-limits. Treat uncertain protected limits or boat routes as no-hunt conditions.
FAQ
Do you need a licence in São Sebastião?
Yes. Use the gov.br recreational fishing licence service. The fee is waived only for accompanied under-18s and men 65+/women 60+.
Can you hunt in the channel?
The safe plan is no. Heavy ship, ferry and oil-terminal traffic make outer headlands the right choice.
What visibility is stated?
Outer headlands are stated at 8 to 20 m visibility.
Is Maresias beginner-friendly?
Not as a first solo dive. It is a rock-entry site that depends on small sea.
Can you spear goliath grouper?
No. Goliath grouper, or mero, is under total moratorium.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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