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
calmupdated 18:16
Vila do Bispo — solo, off the rocks
DON'T GO
don't go · wave 1.5 m (occasionally up to ~3.0 m)
wave 1.5 mwind 20, gusts 35 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
What's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
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: 1391 spots across 205 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
Praia do ZavialZavial bay, east corner (Raposeira)
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
Summer in a swell-free window, mornings before the thermal wind. Blue Flag beach with a summer lifeguard.
tide
Mid-tide to enter off the sand in the east corner; at low tide the west reef shoals and dries, making the rocky exit more dangerous.
shelter
Large south-facing bay; the east corner (left as you face the sea) is sheltered from the N and NW wind. Picks up NW and W swell more than the Sagres beaches do.
conditions
Diveable on calm days over the rocky reef on the west side — rich marine life and good visibility. In swell season it is primarily a surf spot, not for diving.
hazard
Hidden rocks on the west reef and currents once swell enters — the main risk is the same one surfers face: invisible rocks in the break. Exiting by the west rocks you can get pinned.
access
The road from Raposeira/Zavial drops to a large car park by the beach; cafe on site. Enter off the sand in the sheltered east corner and swim to the reef along the west rocks.
Same natural park and lifeguarded beach as Ingrina: speargun only legal for residents and never near bathers. Neighbouring Ingrina, 3 min west, is usually calmer.
Praia da IngrinaIngrina cove (Raposeira, south coast)
dangerous
best candidate for today
⛔ Banned here
in the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
window
Late spring to early autumn, mornings before the thermal wind builds. Lifeguard on duty June-September.
tide
Best around mid-tide; at low tide the west rocks and reef pools dry out and the sandy entry gets awkward.
shelter
Small shell-shaped cove on the south coast, sheltered from the prevailing N and NW wind and from west Atlantic swell. The most sheltered, clearest spot in the whole Vila do Bispo municipality.
conditions
Diveable most of summer: water usually calm and clear, reef rocks on both sides and a stony 'natural pier' running ~200 m west. Best with small NW swell (<1 m) and N wind, which here blows offshore.
hazard
Submerged and just-awash rocks at both ends of the cove and along the west 'pier' — easy to cut yourself and get pinned on exit if swell builds. Bathers on the beach in summer.
access
Turn off at Raposeira to the restaurant above the cove, small car park right by the beach. Short walk down to the sand; enter off the central sand, skirting the rocks.
Inside the Costa Vicentina natural park and a lifeguarded beach — spearfishing here is allowed only for municipality residents and never near bathers; for a visitor this is a freedive/snorkel spot, not a speargun spot.
Praia do CastelejoWest-coast surf beach (Costa Vicentina)
dangerous
⛔ Banned here
exposed head-on to the swell today
window
Only calm summer mornings; otherwise stay out. Summer lifeguard on duty.
tide
If you enter at all, only on a low-to-mid tide with falling swell; at low tide the hidden rocks in the break are exposed.
shelter
Exposed west coast under dark cliffs — virtually no shelter. Takes the full Atlantic swell and NW wind head-on. Calm only in a rare flat window.
conditions
Almost never diveable. Only on rare flat days with swell <0.5 m and light wind can you carefully snorkel near shore; otherwise it is a surf spot.
hazard
Strong rip currents, powerful waves and HIDDEN submerged rocks along the whole beach — the same risks that kill surfers. Solo and with any swell — no. Scout from land first.
access
Paved road from Vila do Bispo (~3.7 km) drops to a car park and cafe right above the beach; sandy entry. But it is the sea state, not access, that decides.
The main west-coast beach of the municipality — a powerful surf spot, 'not recommended for swimming'. Included as the exposed-entry example: scout from land, dive only in a rare flat window.
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».
Praia do Amado (Carrapateira, ~9 km N de Vila do Bispo) (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Praia do Amado (Carrapateira, ~9 km N of Vila do Bispo). Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗
In season now: Sea bass, White seabream, Gilthead bream, Salema, Octopus, Mullet
In season now
Robalo (sea bass)
<4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
Sargo (white seabream)
1–5 m · flood (rides the surf onto the reef) · dawn
Dominant reef target. Visibility matters more than time of day.
Dourada (gilthead bream)
1–4 m · flood over sand/weed · dawn
Very skittish — static ambush.
Salema
0–2 m · — · daytime
Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
Polvo (octopus)
1–6 m · high water · twilight
Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
Tainha (mullet)
0–2 m · — · —
Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
Santola (spider crab)
1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
✓Spearfishing licence required, daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required. (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º + 12.º-A; fees in , .) There is no minimum age for the licence, but under-16s are exempt from holding one when fishing accompanied by a licence holder (art. 12.º n.º 2 al. b).
✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º n.º 1; ).
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only (, art. 8.º/3 + 3.º/5; DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d).
✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver (, art. 4.º/2).
✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg (, art. 12.º/1).
✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too (, ; table).
✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g ( + EU Reg. 2019/1241; minimum-size table).
✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken (
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. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is 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.
Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; 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 · Vila do Bispo
Spearfishing in Vila do Bispo: spots, seasons and rules
Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher
Spearfishing in Vila do Bispo is restricted. Ingrina and Zavial are the usable south-coast coves, but the local note limits spearfishing to residents of the municipality, never near bathers. Visitors should treat them as apnea or scouting entries. If the legal condition is met, Ingrina is the more sheltered choice and Zavial the more exposed second option. Castelejo stays off the hunting list as red/scout west-coast surf.
TL;DR
Vila do Bispo splits into sheltered south-coast coves and raw west-coast surf.
Ingrina is the calmest entry, but local notes limit spearfishing to municipal residents and away from swimmers.
Castelejo is red/scout: surf, rip currents, hidden rocks and rare flat windows.
Conditional spearfishing entries in Vila do Bispo
These entries only make sense when the resident restriction is satisfied. Castelejo is red/scout and excluded.
Spot
Type
Depth
Level
Access
Notes
Praia da Ingrina
Small south-coast shell-shaped cove
Reef on both sides and a natural rock point extending west
Easy to intermediate, with local legal restriction
Park above the cove and enter from sand.
Best with NW swell below 1 m and offshore nortada. Residents-only spearfishing, never near bathers.
Praia do Zavial
South-facing bay with rocky reef
Coastal reef, mainly on the west side
Intermediate, with local legal restriction
Beach car park; enter from sand in the sheltered east corner.
Works in calm mornings. More W/NW exposure than Ingrina, with hidden rocks and current in surf.
Conditions and season essentials
Ingrina is the conservative choice: sheltered from nortada and west swell, usually calm through summer with NW swell below 1 m, and best before thermal wind. Zavial has good reef but receives more W/NW energy and turns into surf faster; mid tide is balanced. Castelejo is a land check for most divers, with rare flat-sea conditions below 0.5 m. Rules apply on top of the local restriction: licence from age 16, apnea only, daylight only, Alfa buoy within 30 m, sea bass 36 cm and octopus 750 g.
✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
✓Distances between people: at least 20 m from another spearfisher (, art. 6.º n.º 3) unless you agree otherwise; from a boat, 50 m from other vessels, divers and set gear (art. 6.º n.º 2); every vessel must keep 50 m from your signalling buoy and from boats flying flag Alfa (art. 7.º n.º 6). The figure that circulates — «30 m between hunters» — is wrong: 30 m is the distance to YOUR OWN buoy.
✓What you may take into the water: the CAPTURE gear on a spearfishing dive is the speargun, a shellfish knife, a gaff (puxeiro) and an arrelhada (, art. 3.º n.º 3). That is not a ban on everything else: art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows equipment for cold protection, for buoyancy, for protection or safety and for carrying the catch, and any other equipment that does not permit the direct capture of specimens. Bait and groundbait are PROHIBITED in spearfishing (art. 5.º n.º 3). You may not carry or keep a speargun and a breathing apparatus aboard at the same time, nor carry the gun ready to fire out of the water or in a zone where spearfishing is banned (art. 3.º n.º 6). On any recreational-fishing boat the whole crew wears a lifejacket (art. 4.º n.º 3).
✓Where recreational fishing is closed altogether (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard zones (no exception) and in aquaculture establishments — in the LATTER only, fishing is possible when the concession-holder or owner formally authorises it; the shipyard bar has no such carve-out; within 100 m of the mouth of any marked sewage outfall; over beach-concession waters, to the extent the POOC sets; and in other zones closed by the port or maritime authority. For spearfishing and boat fishing specifically (n.º 2) the navigation channels of port and river bars, the approach channels and the buoyed channels are closed. There is NO «300 m from the beach» rule on the mainland — that number comes from Madeira's own act; on the mainland the distance is set by the POOC and by the capitania's edital.
✓The border rivers Minho and Guadiana: spearfishing is BANNED along both international stretches — bilateral Portugal-Spain agreements, art. 9.º n.º 3 (Minho, RAR 34/2023, in force since 26-05-2023) and art. 6.º n.º 1 (Guadiana, RAR 173/2025, in force since 07-12-2025), both reading «É proibida a pesca submarina». On the Guadiana it is also a serious offence (art. 19.º), and a 100 m strip alongside the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is closed separately (art. 5.º). The stretches run from the confluence with the Trancoso / the Chança down to the closing line at each mouth.
✓On the other Portuguese-Spanish border river stretches (outside the TIRM and the Guadiana maritime-jurisdiction zone) — Decreto 30/88, art. 6.º n.º 1: harpoons, gigs, tridents and any blunt instrument used to take fish are prohibited (al. e), as is «a pesca ou caça subaquática» with artificial light, and night fishing (al. g).
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