Ethics in Spearfishing

Due to the recent popularity of Rok's thread, I've decided to post how I practice spearing and would like to see others post what what their operating procedures are too.

I get out more often than the averge joe, and have some pretty decent numbers so the days of coming home skunked are long gone. My crew are fairly near the uppper end of the learning curve to and as such we can always bring in more fish than we do. Our freezers would soon be over flowing and our neighbors tired of fish if we shot every fish we could. Therefore we are all highly selective, not just with which fish we take but also which shots we take. Meaning we pass a many shots that would only hit the fish and wait for the kill shot to present itself, or a reasonably good chance at it. If I don't think I am very likely to put a fish's lights right out I will not take the shot. This is also a consequence of freeshafting but that is another thread. All fish are immediately brained once they are on a stringer for good measure, this is only humane and has the added benefit of eliminating the erratic movements that bring in sharks.

We also never take a species we don't want to eat our selves. My friend Robb hates mangrove snapper and will not shoot one even though he could give it to someone else. I am the same way with triggerfish.

If a fish cannot be precisely IDd it doesn't get shot period.

We always make sure a red grouper of shovelnose lobster are left on a ledge or piece of cheese bottom to keep the spot well dug out. I don't know that this can hold back massive sand deposits from storms but it is a small price to pay otherwise.

I also do not consider spearing a "sport". Wikipedia says: Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. A set of rules that are applied to both sides are key. Since competition is key to being a sport, fairness is important and two equal teams playing eachother is often the pinnacle of a good sporting match. Hunting is the opposite. It is the planned death of your prey to provide you with food. There are no hunters in nature that wait for a fair fight, in fact they do everything in their power to give them a competitive advantage. If you want a sporting event with fish try to catch them bare handed once they have seen you swimming after them. Otherwise kill them as quickly as possible and be thankful that their death will bring you and your family health and strength. Especially when compared to hormone saturated industrial produced alternatives.

What about you guys?

Pat,

Thanks for the topic, looks like it can be a good one.

Every world-class spearfishing operation, organization, and committee that I am aware of clearly recognizes spearfishing as a sport.

Here are a couple of examples:

1. "The mission of The International Bluewater Spearfishing Records Committee (IBSRC) is to promote ethical, safe and sporting spearfishing practices, to establish uniform regulations for the compilation of world-bluewater gamefish records, and to provide basic spearfishing guidelines for use in bluewater contests and any other bluewater spearfishing activities worldwide.
With the astounding increase in awareness of bluewater hunting as a separate and bona fide sport worldwide came the realization that while many countries have functioning organizations for their national records, there is no international organization dedicated to bluewater records.

Since the Underwater Society of America (USOA) has a functioning non-profit organization in place with goals similar to the International Bluewater Spearfishing Records Committee (IBSRC), it was approached to sponsor the committee. With the enthusiastic support of the USOA, the committee soon grew to 33 governing members. In keeping with its goal as a truly international organization, members include recognized bluewater divers from such countries as Australia (6), New Zealand (2), Greece (2), South Africa (2) Brazil (1) England (1) Mexico (1) and France (2)."

- from The International Bluewater Spearfishing Records Committee (IBSRC), mission and purpose


2. "Since 1950, the International Underwater Spearfishing Association (IUSA) has been the custodian of the spearfishing World Records. The growing technology in the sport of spearfishing, and the increasing skill of divers today has prompted the IUSA to expand its role in the diving community through reorganization. In addition to the certification and compilation of spearfishing world records, the IUSA is actively striving to promote ethical spearfishing practices, and is becoming involved in scientific and educational programs which not only benefit divers, but also the world as a whole."

- from the INTERNATIONAL UNDERWATER SPEARFISHING ASSOCIATION, preamble


3. And finally, last but not least "The USOA is the public diving organization of the United States. Its executive committee, board of directors and delegates of the member councils and clubs meeting annually controls it. Currently there are some thirty councils/clubs in the Society. (The clubs are usually formed to play an underwater sport.) The Society functions to give national recognition to divers.
Since 1959, National Championships have been conducted in Skin Diving Spearfishing, Scuba Diving and other underwater sports as U/W Hockey, U/W Rugby, Fin Swimming, and U/W Photography.

In 1989, the Society was admitted to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as an Affiliated Sport. As a charter member of the World Underwater Federation C.M.A.S. (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques), the Society is the sanctioning body for underwater sports in the United States. As a member of CMAS, the Society sanctions yearly local, regional and national underwater championships in Scuba, Skin Diving, Spearfishing, U/W Hockey, U/W Rugby, Fin Swimming and U/W Photography. The USOA is also eligible and sends teams to all World U/W Sports Championships. CMAS is headquartered in Rome where USOA sits on all CMAS Committees: Science, Technical and Sports. USOA athletes are honored with all sports national champions comprising the All American Dive Team."

- from Carol Rose, President, Underwater Society of America

I guess we just have to disagree again. In all of those organizations speargishing becomes a sport (to them) because the divers are competing against other divers, usually through points in tournaments or heaviest fish in records. So if you aren't trophy hunting or in a tournament you are only practicing for the sport in that sense. When you start figuring that the impact on some species like grouper is more significant when you take the larger fish, because the large males are the key to the breeding, then this bigger is better mentality is also on shaky ethical grounds. At least in my opinion, everyone else is entitled to theirs, you certainly have listed well known organizations who feel differently than I do.

I prefer spearing to be about meat and the fellowship of the hunt than about whose lobster has the larger carapace.

I am a hunter for food for my plate. I am selective for certain fish that I like to eat. Cabezon, halibut, and Ling Cod. If they are not available, I may take rock fish or perch. I do not swim around looking for the trophy fish. If it is a legal size Cabezon, I shoot it. I do not partake in Ling Cod or Abalone tournaments because I do not like crowds. Also some locations that have had Ling Cod Tournaments have been fished out. It will take years to recover.

I have written about an experience where I uselessly killed a Ling Cod because I did not know any better that I could not catch it using my pole spear with paralyzer tip. That was 15 years ago and I still regret killing the Ling Cod when I should have let it live. If I would have eaten it it would not bother me. But I killed it senselessly. I found out later that males guard the eggs. Kill the male and other animals will eat the eggs. I do not hunt Ling Cod or Cabezon during mating season. California now has closures during these periods.

I am also a recreational abalone freediver. I do not search for the largest shell abalone nor do I take all from the same dive location. I tend to take the abalone with the thickest black tentacles as long as it is legal size.

As for braining fish. I never have. When trout fishing, the fish are left alive in the water on a line stringer. When spearfishing the shots are head shots so in general no need to. I have been taught to de-gill if I have a problem. I have never been shown how to use a knife to brain a fish.

As for being selective in shot location, of course we are selective for head shots or risk losing the fish and damaging the meat. Your statement does not make sense to me. We do not aim for the body; we aim for the head or right behind the head.

I would take a fish for a friend that I would not eat myself. If they like a certain fish sometimes if I see one I may take it. The same goes for abalone. I would never use 4 abalone, but give 1 or 2 to my friends. Now that it is a limit of three, I may only give one to a neighbor or friend.

I would not kill a fish that looked good to eat, but I could not identify.

None of this has anything to do with ethics for me. It has to do with California Department of Fish and Game Rules and Regulations.

If I shot an undersize fish by mistake would I keep it? Well I could let it go and something will eat it. Is it worth keeping with the possible chance of getting caught - probably not. If CA-DFG was no where in sight would it be better to just eat it instead of wasting it?

First, whether you classify it as a sport or not, competitive spearfishing tournaments should be banned. There is no such thing in spearfishing as catch and release.

When I think of spearfishing or hunting in general, it has nothing to do with sport for me. I'm on a dive, I carry a gun and if I see a shootable(is this a word? lol) fish, great. It's about the dive, the game is just a bonus. Will I be disappointed if I don't get anything, maybe. Will it change my life, absolutely not. When lobster are in season, I admit, my purpose is a little more directed.

I follow the regulations. If something is questionable, it gets left alone. If I don't have a clean shot, none is taken. I don't shoot species I won't eat. I only take what I can use up before my next trip, if I'm that lucky.

I used to tell my U/W hunting students, if it doesn't swim away from you, it probably isn't edible. lol Of course, hogfish and red grouper don't count.

Craig

Ethical spearing has three elements.
1. Legality - you must hold any required licenses, and the fish you shoot must be legal (species, size, season and location).
2. Use - the fish you shoot must be used - I may carry this one further than most, but when I say used I mean all of it. Whatever doesn't go on the plate ends up in the cat's dish or crab trap or compost rack rather than in the dump.
3. Respect - By respect I mean things like positive ID of both species and size, taking only shots with a good chance of a quick kill, dispatching shot fish quickly, never "cleaning out" a site, never tearing up stuff to get a shot, keeping speartips sharp etc...
Rick

CraigAClark:

First, whether you classify it as a sport or not, competitive spearfishing tournaments should be banned. ...

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From the rules for this forum:

It is not the place for folks ... who object to legal underwater hunting, ... If you're here to complain about spearfishing or lobstering or any other kind of legal hunting or gathering underwater you've come to the wrong place - take it out to the general forums.

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If you want to propose a ban on legal tournaments (or any other legal hunting activity) that's fine, but this just isn't the place.
Thanks in advance.
Rick

Rick Murchison:

From the rules for this forum:
If you want to propose a ban on legal tournaments (or any other legal hunting activity) that's fine, but this just isn't the place.
Thanks in advance.
Rick

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Sorry, wasn't even thinking about the legality, just the ethics. Remembering pictures of local tournaments with stringers of hogfish, starting about the size of my hand and not getting even close to 12". Yup there was no size limit at that time.

Craig

CraigAClark:

Sorry, wasn't even thinking about the legality, just the ethics. Remembering pictures of local tournaments with stringers of hogfish, starting about the size of my hand and not getting even close to 12". Yup there was no size limit at that time.

Craig

Click to expand...

Too bad, I am sorry you had this experience. Fortunately the tournaments that once harbored this type of mentality have become extinct.

If you ever get the opportunity to attend a bluewater event hosted or sponsored by World Class agencies such as International Bluewater Spearfishing Records Committee, CMAS, or International Underwater Spearfishing Association, you will much different scene. No stringers of fish on display, 1 or 2 fish a day limit, no mutilated fish. Pretty simple.

Some of the best spearfishermen and women in the world, getting together to share experience and techniques, spend time with family, teach kids sound ethics and conservation, contribute to conservation agencies, and expose to the a public positive image of our sport based on sound ethics and conservation is what it is all about.

Truly a wonderful experience for all who attend, competitors, volunteers, and most importantly the members of international and local communities around the world.

Why do we hunt?

For food, for competition, for camaraderie?

For me, the real answer is because I like it!

The stalking, taking (AKA KILLING), preparing, consuming of wild animals is what it is all about. I enjoy all aspects of this processes. My family has been hunting and fishing for at least 5 generations. I personally don't derive pleasure form competing against other hunters. How they derive pleasure is there own thing.

Beware any argument used with non-hunters that tries to justify killing for any other reason. They may not understand, so trying to convince them that it is ethical, humane, or in the interest of the species to kill it is a hard sell.

Back to lurking

Walt