Hunting with bottles?

[Rick Murchison]

Let's look at it from a hunter's point of view.

Let's look at it from a fish eater's point of view
If I am going to eat fish, especially relatively deep water fish like red snapper, and I want to have a minimal impact on the ecosystem from which the fish comes, there is currently no more efficient way to put that fish on the plate than to select, target and shoot that fish on scuba.
No bycatch.
No "release" of embolized fish.
No undersized or oversized fish.
Just pick the one I want to eat.
Rick

 

[ChillyWaters]

Let's look at it from a fish eater's point of view
If I am going to eat fish, especially relatively deep water fish like red snapper, and I want to have a minimal impact on the ecosystem from which the fish comes, there is currently no more efficient way to put that fish on the plate than to select, target and shoot that fish on scuba.
No bycatch.
No "release" of embolized fish.
No undersized or oversized fish.
Just pick the one I want to eat.
Rick

Hmmm... sounds like you would love this thing called a "supermarket."

Actually, I can't imagine shooting any fish, mainly because all ours around here are too friendly. If we had something bigger that was a little more afraid of humans, I think it could be interesting.

But dropping down and shooting something that just stares at you blankly doesn't seem that interesting to me.

- ChillyWaters

 

[all4scuba05]

well I guess we shouldn't kill the cows anymore either then...they stare blankly too before we slit their throats

 

[miskatonic]

Just FYI. I belong to PETA. They are not a terrorist group. They are an activist group. There is a HUGE difference between the two.

 

[Allison Finch]

Just FYI. I belong to PETA. They are not a terrorist group. They are an activist group. There is a HUGE difference between the two.

Hmmmmm when I was riding at a horse show, I had several picketing members of PETA grab my horse's bridle because they thought it was inhuman to ride it. I guess it didn't bother them that when they did that, the bit cut my horses mouth and it started spitting blood. In many years of riding, I've never cut my horses' mouth. They are terrorists! They terrorized my horse and me (as well as other horse/rider teams).

Supermarkets sell fish that are gathered by VERY questionable means. I would rather spear one particular fish to eat than think of all the "non food" fish that fisherman kill and throw away every day.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

Canadian Diver, question for you.

I am Canadian (sound like a beer commercial now...)
but i have no idea about the law at home. Is it legal or illegal to spear on Scuba in Canada?

Hey Mike.

It's legal to spearfish any non-game fish. Atleast it is in Manitoba.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

In some jurisdictions, but not in others. No one should violate game laws, but just because a practice is illegal in one area doesn't make it so in another. In Florida it is legal and therefore perfectly ok to do so.

Hunting while free diving is more difficult, but hunting on SCUBA is not as easy as most of you seem to think. In some ways, it is easier to hunt free diving because you don't have bubbles to frighten the fish.

Can spearfishing have an impact on fish populations? Of course, but if done responsibily (and it isn't always) it is much less harmful than either netting or line fishing. Spearfishermen take fewer fish and there are fewer of them doing it.

Hey Walter! I'm all for spearfishing so long as it's legal in the jurisdiction that you're hunting in. What I don't agree with, is breaking the law.

Responsible wildlife / fisheries stewardship is key in the harvesting of any animal.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

Let's look at it from a fish eater's point of view
If I am going to eat fish, especially relatively deep water fish like red snapper, and I want to have a minimal impact on the ecosystem from which the fish comes, there is currently no more efficient way to put that fish on the plate than to select, target and shoot that fish on scuba.
No bycatch.
No "release" of embolized fish.
No undersized or oversized fish.
Just pick the one I want to eat.
Rick

Hey Rick.

No argument at all there from me. My beef is when folks don't obey the laws and poach / harvest game illegally.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

Just FYI. I belong to PETA. They are not a terrorist group. They are an activist group. There is a HUGE difference between the two.

If you say so. They might not be a terrorist group, but they might as well be since they support terrorists such as ELF and ALF. These groups have set fires to SUV dealerships and labs where innocent people could have lost their lives, and in essence, may have lost employment. These groups are the scourge of the earth.

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/columns/guest_columnist/1349596.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/19/domestic.terrorism/

Please don't preach PETA to me. If you want to discuss this in private, please send me a PM.

 

[Azza]

Hmmmmm when I was riding at a horse show, I had several picketing members of PETA grab my horse's bridle because they thought it was inhuman to ride it. I guess it didn't bother them that when they did that, the bit cut my horses mouth and it started spitting blood. In many years of riding, I've never cut my horses' mouth. They are terrorists! They terrorized my horse and me (as well as other horse/rider teams).

Wow! Thas bad. If anyone grabbed my horse while I was riding they would get a Number 10 boot to the bridge of the nose.

Here in New Zealand Spearing is not done on scuba. I am not sure if it's illegal but it's certainly a quick way to lose friends. Scorn is heaped upon those that spear on scuba.
If you wanna hunt the fish down deeper, then you have to learn to freedive deeper.
We had a guy here who speared a marlin at 30 metres, and landed it. He has a 3 minute "working time" at 30 metres on one breath. Thats sport. However he said he will never ever spear a marlin again and was quite upset at himself for doing it.