Corniche / Mont Saint-ClairSète
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rocky foot of Mont Saint-Clair, fissures 2–12 m, shore; bass, bream, gilthead, cuttlefish.
Google MapsSète spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.4
wave 0.1 m head-on
visibility5m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 16:50
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 16:50
Sète — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · strong wind 18 km/h, gusts 27 — caution
wave 0.1 m head-onwind 18, gusts 27 km/hvisibility ~7 mwindow 15:00–21:00
today, best window 18:00–21:00
fish · Visibility 7 m · Water 26.3°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
06:25–21:18 · first quarter
▲ 03:00▼ 10:00▼ 15:00▲ 17:00▲ 19:00▼ 23:00 · 0.1 m
Hours (06→20)
15
18
Day's trends
Tide-0.49 m
Wave0.12 m
Wind8 km/h
Water26 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:39 · moderate · moon underfoot 08:00 · high · moonrise 15:39 · moderate · moon overhead 20:20 · high
Conditions window15:00–18:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.18 mperiod 2.6 s head-onwind 18→28surge 0viz 5 m
0.18 mup to ~0.36 · 56° head-on
2.6 sswell moderate
18→28gusts 28 km/h
0weak surge
0.08m/s
5 mrecent swell
26.3°C5 mm + hood
▲17:00tide turn near
Atmosphere50 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- strong wind 18 km/h, gusts 28 — caution
- northerly wind picks up after midday
- visibility ~5 m
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
Digues estSète
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Riprap to the east, shelter in a mistral, 2–8 m, shore; bream, mullet, cuttlefish.
Google MapsThéâtre de la MerSète
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
~1 km rocky front with fissures, 2–12 m, shore; striped bream, red mullet, bream. Flat sea.
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
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
- bar / loup (European seabass)Bag: north of 48°N — 3/day (except 1 Feb–31 Mar: catch-and-release only); south of 48°N — 2/day year-round.
- maigre (meagre)
- gilthead seabream
- white seabream
- black seabream
- grey mullet
- European conger
- striped red mullet
- common sole
- European hake
- Atlantic mackerelAtlantic 20 cm (North Sea — 30 cm), Mediterranean 18 cm.
- brown meagre / corb🚫 Mérou (5 spp.) and corb: TOTAL spearfishing ban in the French Mediterranean (mainland + Corsica), moratorium to end 2033. Size is irrelevant — not a legal target at all.
- grouper (5 spp.)🚫 Mérou (5 spp.) and corb: TOTAL spearfishing ban in the French Mediterranean (mainland + Corsica), moratorium to end 2033. Size is irrelevant — not a legal target at all.
- red porgy
- common pandora
- axillary seabream
- two-banded seabream
- sharpsnout seabream
- annular seabream
- striped seabream
Law
- ✓No licence and no declaration since 2009 — free practice (décret 2009-727). BUT civil-liability (RC) insurance for spearfishing is MANDATORY (not a myth) — a standalone policy or an FFESSM/FFPSA federation licence. Speargun (arbalète) — 16+.
- ✓Breath-hold only — any breathing apparatus (scuba/hookah) is banned. Night prohibited (sunset to sunrise). Never keep the speargun loaded out of the water. Stay ≥150 m from vessels actively fishing; spearfishing banned in ports, bathing zones and marine reserves.
- ✓Min. sizes are façade-specific (arrêté 26 Oct 2012 + EU 2019/1241): sea bass (bar) 42 cm Atlantic/Channel and 30 cm Mediterranean. In the Med, moratoria protect the grouper (×5) and the brown meagre (corb) — don't shoot them. From 10 Jan 2026 a new registration + catch-declaration regime applies (arrêté 7 Nov 2025). See the species card and the guide.
- ✓EU Regulation 2023/2842: angler registration and catch declaration for certain species (sea bass, pollack, bluefin tuna) due from 10 Jan 2026 — obligation postponed by France while the EU app is not ready; check current status.
- ⛔ 🚫 Mérou (5 spp.) and corb — total spearfishing ban in the Mediterranean (mainland + Corsica), moratorium to end 2033.
- ⛔ Grande nacre (Pinna nobilis) — full take ban (Habitats Dir. 92/43 Annex IV). Marine mammals, turtles, seahorses (Hippocampus), corals — do not touch.
- ⛔ Crustaceans (lobster, spiny lobster, spider crab, ormer/abalone) — harpoon/foëne PROHIBITED. By hand while freediving only, where species/size/season is open. Ormeau (Haliotis) — hand-take heavily restricted/seasonal, effectively closed in many zones.
Rules change. Exact distances from beaches/ports and seasonal closures are set by the local préfecture maritime — check its arrêté and the DIRM/OFB zone map before heading out.
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 Sète: spots, seasons and rules
Spearfishing in Sète is compact and wind-led. The main ground is about 2 km of rock below Mont Saint-Clair, from the Corniche to the Théâtre de la Mer, with fissures in 2 to 12 m. Listed species include bass, mullet, gilthead, bream, striped bream, red mullet and cuttlefish. Mediterranean tide is minor; wind decides the day. The north-west mistral dirties and cools the water, while the east dykes can be a relative fallback. Dive flat water, early, and away from swimmers.
TL;DR
- Sète's useful ground is the short rock strip below Mont Saint-Clair: Corniche, Théâtre de la Mer and the east dykes.
- Best window: flat sea, early morning, and visibility around 4 to 12 m depending on wind.
- The north-west mistral dirties and cools the water; the east dykes are only a relative shelter.
Best spearfishing spots in Sète
All three spots are shore-based rock or riprap. Pick by wind and by distance from summer swimmers.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corniche / Mont Saint-Clair | Rocky foot with fissures | 2 to 12 m | Accessible in flat sea | Shore | Bass, bream, gilthead and cuttlefish. This is the core rock of Sète. |
| Théâtre de la Mer | Fissured rocky front | 2 to 12 m | Accessible intermediate | Shore | About 1 km of rock with striped bream, red mullet and bream. Needs flat sea. |
| East dykes | Riprap sheltered in mistral | 2 to 8 m | Accessible, traffic-aware | Shore | Bream, mullet and cuttlefish. A relative fallback when the mistral hits the exposed front. |
What conditions matter most in Sète?
The local visibility range is 4 to 12 m depending on wind. The mistral is the bad signal because it makes the water dirty and cold. Look for flat sea and an early start, then use the seafront and beach webcams only as a surface check. In summer, swimmer distance is part of the dive plan, not an afterthought.
FAQ
Where is Sète's main spearfishing ground?
The rock below Mont Saint-Clair, from the Corniche to the Théâtre de la Mer.
Is mistral good for Sète?
No. The north-west mistral dirties and cools the water.
What depths are listed?
Mostly 2 to 12 m, with the east dykes in 2 to 8 m.
What species are listed?
Bass, mullet, gilthead, bream, striped bream, red mullet and cuttlefish.
Are grouper and corb legal targets?
No. In the French Mediterranean, grouper species and corb are protected from spearfishing to the end of 2033.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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