Spearfishing by Freediving Only?

[Walter]

Hey Walter, thanks for the reply. I didn't know that Bahama was that restrictive. When I was there back in '98, I wasn't spearfishing, but our boat captain explained that if we wanted to eat any of the lobster that we were seeing, we would have to catch them freediving, because Bahamian Law outlawed lobstering and spearfishing on scuba. If he mentioned anything about spear guns and pole spears I didn't remember.

Unless it's changed, while you have to take lobster while free diving, you were allowed to spear them.

 

[The Butcher]

I wish California had restrictive Spear fishing laws but the don't and probably never will have them.

Mexico to the south has very restrictive laws which are seldom if ever enforced.
No hunting with SCUBA Yea!! Good for the Mexicans! No CO2, cartridge powered guns or points, not over two bands for rubber powerd guns...etc

sdm

Why would you want more interfernece on hunting? Personally my goal is to go to rebreather so that I can hunt even more stealth. I hunt for a meal-not for sport.

If any restrictions need to be made, it should be on commercial fisherman. Especially those who drag the bottom. The only keep 10% of what they dredge up. The rest dies -eggs and all. Mexico is the worst of the offenders.

Don't be a hater.

 

[Wayward Son]

FWIW, check the regs where you dive. Currently, rebreathers are illegal for spearing in both FL and AL. Can't say for other states & am unsure about federal waters. But they're too expensive to assume anything, LOL

 

[Fatboy rider]

"Spearfishing is no different than any other sort of hunting. There is no shortage of people who think their way is the only way & get pretty cranked up over it. I'm more flexible & enjoy a wide variety of hunting tactics, methods & equipment. I don't hunt to make the other guy happy, I hunt for me. So it makes sense for me to do things the way that I want to, not the way someone I may not even know insists on. "
Wayward Son


Well said

The more restrictions placed on any sport the fewer people will enjoy it!

Walt

 

[Ronjac]

I would like to hear from those of other countries where this is law and how the divers there look at this.[/QUOTE]


I’m not much into underwater hunting these days, but as far as I know in most of Europe it is illegal to use scuba for spear fishing. Furthermore, the law for underwater activities of most Mediterranean countries is very restrictive and you are not allowed to have u/w hunting equipment, or even any catch (fish, shells) on boat with scuba divers.

 

[Chad Carney]

For the anti-spearfishing on scuba viewpoint all you need do is take a look at a freediving forum like deeperblue.net or the Freedive list... they're jammed with it.

I'm a freediver too but I don't see the need to be negative about scuba spearfishing where it is legal.

Another note: Many divers think it is easier and more efficient to hunt on scuba. Take a look at the weigh-ins of many mixed or open tournaments and you will see that in reality it's much closer to 50/50. Many freedivers will admit it is often much easier to spear some species of fish without tanks. Conversely much of the deep technical spearfishing is equally as arduos and dangerous as any freedive hunting.

Right now a huge amount of pressure is coming down on our sport. There is very little information about this here on ScubaBoard, so this once I'll include a link to Spearboard's Fishing Regulation section, where you can see that soon you may not be able to spear nearly anything, with or without tanks, if you don't get proactive. Spearfishing Regulations - Spearboard Spearfishing Community

I believe it best for all spearfishermen to stick together, and furthermore to stick together with all recreational fishermen, or we will likely continue to have our rights taken away!

Chad

 

[thorndog]

Spear fishing is far more harmful than hook and line fishing since the 'hunter' almost always kills the biggest prize he (or she)can find. Especially commercial fishermen.
The biggest fish are the most important ones since they produce so many more eggs and are proven survivors. Fact; A 10 kg grouper produces 97 times more eggs than a 1kg grouper.
Missed shots damage coral too.

 

[Bob3]

Spear fishing is far more harmful than hook and line fishing ...

I would have to disagree with that; there is zero bycatch, no fish hauled up from water depths where the bladder needs to get pierced before they can "try" to swim down, no fish having their gills ripped up, or having to run the gauntlet back down to cover.
Hook & line fishing, we often see a trail of dead, undersize, and/or non-target species drifting away in a trail behind the boat.
When we spear, it's the first legal size fish of the type we're after.
I would describe spearfishing as having the potential of being the most responsible form of fishing out there.
As with anything, the proper application is dependent upon the integrity of the person doing the fishing but hook & line has a LOT of wasteful practices built right into it, no matter how responsible the person doing the fishing is.

 

[james croft]

There is a scene from the 70's movie Billy Jack where the hero is surrounded by a group of thugs. Billy Jack is a former Green Beret and martial artist. The ringleader of the mob tells Billy Jack he is about to get his butt kicked as he can't take on all of them. Billy Jack basically agrees, but tells the ring leader that he can't fight them all, but there is one thing he is going to do: He is going to put his right foot across the bad guys head and there ain't a damn thing he can do about it. And then he does it.

YouTube - Billy Jack in action

That is what spearfishing is all about. I see a fish I want, I stalk it, and then I put a shaft right through his central nervous system and there ain't a damn thing it can do about it. No fuss or muss and no collateral damage. It is all very pure.

 

[Chad Carney]

Spear fishing is far more harmful than hook and line fishing since the 'hunter' almost always kills the biggest prize he (or she)can find. Especially commercial fishermen.
The biggest fish are the most important ones since they produce so many more eggs and are proven survivors. Fact; A 10 kg grouper produces 97 times more eggs than a 1kg grouper.
Missed shots damage coral too.

This is utter BS!

Since others have already answered the lack of spearfishing bycatch issues I'll just address the rest of the lack of knowledge here.

1. Commercial spearfisherman: First of all this is an extremely tiny niche business, that is shrinking faster than any other form of commercial fishing. I've spearfished all my life and know a few of these guys. They stick to the high percentage shots on average fish most of the time, because they are the sure thing, they don't break or lose equipment like they do trying for bigger fish.

2. The big fish produce no eggs at all, because they have switched from female to male. Yes, many larger species are equally important as males, but many people wrongly think that trophy fish are the master breaders, when in fact these fish are past their prime. Fish are similar to many animals in this capacity.

3. Spearfisherman are excellent divers. They don't crash onto reefs like rookies. They have a deep respect for all marine life and understand the importance of preservation of coral reefs. They don't pollute the ocean with any monofilament line, tackle or nets.

4. Responsible H & L fishing is an environmentally sound method of fishing, but still the recreational sector of spearfisherman is minute in comparison to that of the anglers. Fewer fishermen means less consumption, pure and simple.

5. Which brings up the real issue... unsound fishing practices. Presently over 80% of the fish population are being taken by commercial longline boats with many miles of lines with thousands of hooks. Nothing survives... the catch is dwindling and the bycatch is huge!

BTW, the Gulf of Mexico regulations I spoke about above have been voted on and it looks like we are facing a 45% reduction in fishing both recreational and commercial in 2008.

Before you come onto a spearfishing section of a diving forum and blast spearfisherman, you better do your homework!

Here's a good place to start! The FRA Fishing Rights Alliance

Chad