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 02:37
South Tenerife (Los Cristianos) — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wave 1.3 m (occasionally up to ~2.6 m)
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Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.
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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.
Alcalá / Playa San JuanSouth Tenerife (Los Cristianos)
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Canary framework: acotada and daylight. On this coast the morning is almost always good because the wind comes in late, and in summer the sea can stay flat a week straight. In winter you wait between westerly swell trains; between them you get days of very clean water.
tide
The 2.4 m Canary springs do not change your working depth, because the drop-off is deep from the first metre, but they do decide the ramp: at low water the concrete at Playa San Juan ends in a slippery boulder step. At high water the cobbles are covered and the entry is cleaner.
shelter
The Alcalá coast lies in the lee of the Teno massif and the bulk of Teide, so the NE trade passes overhead and the sea is often oily flat; that is why the west is the good face of Tenerife. The trade-off is the winter W-SW ground swell, which arrives with no filter at all.
conditions
This is the bluest water on the island: in summer you get 25 m without trying and you read the drop-off from the surface, because the bottom falls away very close in. The only things that dirty it are westerly seas stirring the beach cobbles and a loaded barranco after heavy rain.
hazard
Run the Canary checklist again: you may only spear inside the acotadas of the 2007 and 1988/2002 Ordenes and none of them are on our map, so confirm this stretch on the list before you get in. On top of that the Teno-Rasca marine strip is full of whale-watching boats, and you owe 300 m to working professionals. The enquiry is settled: the Alcalá and Playa San Juan stretch is not made an acotada by the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, wording of 3/7/2008), so spearfishing here is not lawful; the place remains a freediving and bottom-scouting area.
access
The easiest option is the Playa San Juan ramp, south of the village, with parking beside it and a concrete walk-in down to the cobbles. From Alcalá you can also drop down along the old pier promenade to the slabs on the north side. With a westerly sea do not exit on those slabs: swim back to the ramp.
West-coast rocky ground; deep drop-offs, exposed to W-SW swell, advanced.
Las Galletas / La CaletaSouth Tenerife (Los Cristianos)
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Canary rule: acotada and daylight, no exceptions. At Las Galletas the problem is people, so the good window is first thing, before the fishing and dive boats leave and before the promenade fills up. In summer, on top of that, the trade comes in hard from midday onwards.
tide
With springs of around 2.4 m, low water uncovers the flat rock platform east of the pier and you can walk out to its edge; at high water that same stretch disappears and you enter off the boulders. Current is weak inside the cove and only shows once you leave the shelter.
shelter
Las Galletas opens south and the body of the island covers it from the NE trade, though the wind sneaks across the flat and ruffles the cove by mid-afternoon. The bad sector, 140 to 260, leaves the bay open to SW swell; with that coming in, the water by the breakwater turns cloudy and churned.
conditions
The bottom here is a mosaic of rock and sand, so visibility depends on how much sand is up: in calm you see 15-20 m, and one day of chop halves it. With the flat morning sea you can clearly pick out the edge between the stone and the sand clearing.
hazard
Two things. First, the regime: in the Canaries you may only fish inside the acotadas of the 2007 and 1988/2002 Ordenes, none of them drawn on our map, so here no closure does not equal allowed; check it. Second, the harbour: port areas are closed (art. 36.j) and the entrance has constant traffic. Cross-checked: neither La Caleta nor the rest of Las Galletas appears among the acotadas of the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, text of 3/7/2008), so spearfishing is not authorised on this stretch; what is left is freediving and snorkelling.
access
You park on the Las Galletas promenade and walk east, leaving the pier behind, to the stones of La Caleta. You get in over the boulder step, in booties, and a couple of minutes of finning puts you over the good rock. Never cross in front of the harbour entrance on your way out.
Las Galletas harbour rocky ground; rock and sand, moderately exposed to the S, easy entry.
Los Cristianos / Montaña ChicaSouth Tenerife (Los Cristianos)
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
The Canary framework does not change: acotada and sun to sun. Here the decider is the pier timetable, because the ferries to La Gomera and El Hierro start early and never stop; that leaves dawn, before the first boat and before the beaches fill with people. Summer is the flattest.
tide
With the 2.4 m Canary springs, low water uncovers a strip of shingle at the western end of the beach and opens a walking route that does not exist at high water. A running tide also drags the water along the shore, and on a strong flood you feel it pulling as you round the point.
shelter
The bay of Los Cristianos is wedged between the town and the hill that closes it to the west, and that ridge takes almost all the trade away: inside, the water is usually glassy. What does come in is long SSW swell, in the 140-260 sector; with it, the rocky western edge breaks ugly.
conditions
The water is clear, but the bay works like a big port and the wash of the fast boats lifts sand off the shallow bottom again and again. Away from the sand flat, over the rock to the west, you get 15-20 m in calm; after a southerly blow visibility takes two days to come back.
hazard
This is the most delicate place on the island, legally. One: in the Canaries you may only fish inside the 2007 and 1988/2002 acotadas, none of them drawn here, so an empty map authorises nothing. Two: 150 m off the beaches, and port areas banned (art. 36.j). Three: fast ferries to La Gomera use the entrance. The cross-check with the annex is in: Montaña Chica lies outside the acotadas of the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, as amended on 3/7/2008), and outside an acotada spearfishing is impossible; the point is documented for freediving and photography.
access
The practical move is to leave the car up in the streets that climb behind Montaña Chica and walk down the path to the rocks at the western end of the bay. Entry is off a low slab, comfortable at mid tide, and from there you fin west, away from the sand flat and the swimmers.
Rocky ground west of Los Cristianos; semi-sheltered, clear water, good for beginners.
Punta de la Rasca / Palm-MarSouth Tenerife (Los Cristianos)
borderline
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind (city-level)
window
Canary rule before anything else: only inside an acotada and only from sunrise to sunset. At La Rasca the thing is to get in early, with the sea still asleep and the sun low behind you; from midday the wind wraps the point. Winter is SW swell season, so read the forecast before driving.
tide
The 2.4 m springs show up here mostly as current: at the point the water from both sides of the island meets, and a running tide pushes it along. With the tide half way there is a clear jet heading south, and on the entry slabs the water rises and falls a good metre.
shelter
The Palm-Mar cliff, under the Rasca badlands, faces SSW and that is exactly its weak point: the bad sector runs 140 to 260 with the worst around 220. The NE trade arrives here off the land and flattens the water, but rounding the point it accelerates and builds a nasty chop.
conditions
This is open-ocean water, properly blue, and on a calm day you go well past 25 m of visibility over the lava. It only spoils with SW ground swell, which arrives in winter from far away and breaks against the wall; then the edge fills with foam and there is nowhere to get in or out.
hazard
The first hazard here is not the sea but the paperwork: in the Canaries spearfishing is allowed only inside the acotadas of the 2007 and 1988/2002 Ordenes, and since we have none of them drawn, a clean map authorises nothing. Then come the current off the point and the isolation: there is nobody around. Checked against the list, La Rasca is absent: the Orden of 29/10/2007 (BOC no. 222, with the 3/7/2008 amendment) does not make this stretch an acotada, so no speargun goes in the water here; the point is for freediving and for looking at the bottom.
access
You come in through Palm-Mar, leave the car at the edge of the village and take the path that runs below the cliff towards the lighthouse. The way down is over lava blocks, awkward and with poor grip; mark your exact exit point before you get in, because on the way back it all looks the same.
Volcanic rocky ground below the Rasca lighthouse; drop-offs and caves, parrotfish and amberjack, exposed to SW swell.
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».
Minimum sizes by caladero (in the table below). Season depends on the species and place.
In season now
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
gilthead seabream
Sparus aurata · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
white seabream
Diplodus sargus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
two-banded seabream
Diplodus vulgaris · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
salema / saupe
Sarpa salpa · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
black seabream
Spondyliosoma cantharus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
red porgy
Pagrus pagrus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
dusky grouper
Epinephelus marginatus · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
Sin prohibición estatal de captura (NO está en el Catálogo Español, RD 139/2011).
common octopus
Octopus vulgaris · Canaries · 1 kg
Talla por PESO: mín. 1 kg (RD 560/1995, todos los anexos). No coger hembras con huevos.
Mediterranean parrotfish
Sparisoma cretense · Canaries · RD 560/1995 Anexo III
Law
✓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.
FAQ — spearfishing in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos)
Where can I spearfish in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos)?
South Tenerife (Los Cristianos) has rock entry points such as Punta de la Rasca / Palm-Mar, Las Galletas / La Caleta and Los Cristianos / Montaña Chica. South Tenerife faces south-south-west. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos)?
Year-round — 20 m+ visibility over volcanic relief. Ocean swell hits the islands' north faces, so pick the sheltered (south/west) side for the day. The Canaries have their own species rules.
How cold is the water in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos)?
Warm for the Atlantic and steady all year: ~18–24 °C. A 3 mm suit in summer, 5 mm in winter. Very clear water over volcanic rock.
Is South Tenerife (Los Cristianos) good for a beginner?
Intermediate: very clear water but volcanic drop-offs, ocean swell on the exposed faces and rock entries. Pick the sheltered side, and apnea comfort helps.
Do I need a licence in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos)?
Yes — in South Tenerife (Los Cristianos) you need a recreational sea-fishing licence (issued by the autonomous community); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide.
✓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.
✓🔴 The Canary Islands run a PERMISSIVE regime, not a prohibitive one. In the archipelago's interior waters spearfishing is allowed ONLY INSIDE the zonas acotadas listed in the act's annex: «las zonas acotadas dentro de las cuales se permite la práctica de la pesca marítima de recreo submarina, son las que figuran en el anexo» (Orden 29.10.2007). For the archipelago's exterior waters the same is set by an act of its own (Orden 22.02.1988). So the question is not «is there a closed zone here» but «is this point inside an acotada»: outside one, spearfishing is NOT permitted, even if the map shows no closures at all.
✓Canary Islands (special regime, Decreto 182/2004): the «2nd-class» licence enables recreational spearfishing (free-diving only, scuba banned), valid 3 years; applied for at the Gobierno de Canarias (procedure 1186).
✓Canaries (Decreto 182/2004): the speargun may not be used within 150 m of bathers, beaches, busy areas or surface fishers (art. 36.j); kept loaded/armed out of the water (art. 41.a); any protected, closed-season or undersized catch is returned to the sea (art. 38.1). State distance 300 m to professional fishing (, art. 12.b).
•Bans (RMIP): La Restinga–Mar de las Calmas (El Hierro), La Palma island, La Graciosa and the northern Lanzarote islets — spearfishing banned (see zones).
✓Canaries (Decreto 182/2004): spearfishing from sunrise to sunset (art. 35.1), with a speargun, a knife and a (art. 31.1). The recreational daily cap is 5 kg per person, in several pieces or in a single heavier one, and one piece may be left out of the count (art. 38.3). The catch is for own consumption or for charity only, and any commercial use is prohibited (art. 38.2). Carrying catch BETWEEN ISLANDS is capped at 10 kg — in several legal-sized pieces, or in one that may exceed that weight (art. 38.5). This regulation sets NO closed seasons of its own: under art. 172.2 the minimum sizes and the épocas de are «las establecidas en la normativa comunitaria, nacional o autonómica», so the Canarian closed-season calendar has to be looked for in another act, not in this one.
⛔ 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.
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