Spear Fishing teaches fish to fear divers

[moregooder]

" I PAYED GOOD MONEY" to pet those fish!
Just your getting in the water changes the behavior of the fish, you are as much the problem for the fish as the guy with the spear gun. the only way for the fish to thrive is for us to go away, but we couldn't possibly do that "WE PAYED GOOD MONEY"

[AquaBob]

Back in the 1940s, when JYC was first exploring his "Silent World," the fish would crowd around him and Dumas in curiosity. The divers began carrying pole spears to take a few fish each dive to supplement their wartime diet. The fish soon learned to stay just out of reach of the pole spears and were harder to catch. The divers switched to spear guns and, for a while, were bringing fish home for dinner again. That is, until the fish learned the range of the guns and started staying just outside that range. JYC noted that if the divers carried no weapons, the fish would crowd in just as before. But if the divers carried weapons, the fish would stay just out of range of that particular weapon. They would swim closer to a diver carrying a pole spear than they would a diver with a spear gun, and crowd right in on an unarmed diver.

I'd like to read more about this. Do you have a reference?

[TMHeimer]

I'd like to read more about this. Do you have a reference?

As would I. My wifes speculates it may be that spears or poles may resemble a predator to the fish as opposed to what they actually can do to them.

[Ianstephenzs]

It could also be your body language but it is probably a combination of a lot of things.

[Paladin]

JYC tells about it in his book, The Silent World. It is a very interesting account of the early development of the Aqua Lung along with the explorations and experiments he and his friends did in the 1940s.

[The Light Eternal]

I don't know why this is surprising to anyone... the fish who fear spearfisherman will not get killed and therefore will survive to reproduce. Their children will inherently know/be taught to fear divers and live to reproduce. The ones who have no fear will be killed. Pretty basic natural selection.

[Hank49]

I don't think fish will inherently know. They don't learn much from their parents like mammals do. It's pretty much spawn the eggs and leave them on their own. (except for a few species)
I hunt snappers at some spots and if I haven't been there for a couple months or so, the fish aren't spooky at all, until we show some aggression or shoot one.
Go back again the next day and it's much harder to get close.
I agree with the above post by Paladin. They somehow learn about guns and how to stay just out of range. I've bent my shaft a time or two and left my gun on the boat. I'd just dive down to see if I could get close and it's like it's different fish. They know.