Not to start a flame war or anything

plongeursousmarin · Feb 15, 2005

I used to spearfish in Europe and over there legislation prohibits hunting on scuba. You get caught, you get a fine and your equipment is confiscated. It is forbidden to have both scuba equipment and spearguns on a boat. Anyway it's a big no-no. Anyone doing that is considered a poacher. Thoughts?

jlyle · Feb 15, 2005

Different jurisdictions have different rules. Some rules seem quite reasonable - for example, in Northern California you can't take Abalone on scuba, this leaves the breeding populations deeper than free-diving depths alone to make new abs. Others seem to have no legitimate reasons. I would argue that spearfishing, free or scuba, is better than most fishing techniques. At least while spearfishing, you can select which fish you want to kill, in contrast to what happens when using a rod/reel.

If you think the rules are not right, you can work to change them.

Best,
Jim (jlyle)

ShakaZulu · Feb 15, 2005

I believe that is the way it should be, no hunting while scuba........give the fish/lobsters a chance for survival. On the other side we have fish nets and lobster traps??? What to do???

ScottZeagle · Feb 15, 2005

Different countries and even states have regulations that work for them. In most of the USA it is legal to spear fish on scuba, so that is what we do. If at some point it becomes illegal, we will have to adapt. Lucky for us, the FRA exsists to protect our rights. End of story, imho...

Scott

TropicalDiver · Feb 15, 2005

If its legal - do it

IF its not legal - then don't.
ITS THAT SIMPLE.
I sincerely hope that you didn't start this thread with the intent to start a discussion of the value of spearing with or without scuba. If so, it doesn't belong here. This is SCUBA BOARD and the forum is UNDERWATER HUNTING.

Mako Mark · Feb 15, 2005

I am all for managed hunting. Catch limits, minimum and maximum size limits should be respected. if you want to eat lobster next weekend too, go diving for them next weekend, they taste far better fresh than frozen anyhow.

My gripe is when certain groups are given special fishing rights because of ethnic origin. that really bugs me.. some guy who claims a certain ancestry can catch a fish where I cant.. I believe resource management is for the resource, not for the fishermen..

Amphibious · Feb 15, 2005

Sounds like perfect legistaltion to me. wish North America would have it. but as it doesn't, I will bite my tounge about scuba hunters.

ifukuda · Feb 15, 2005

I sincerely hope that you didn't start this thread with the intent to start a discussion of the value of spearing with or without scuba. If so, it doesn't belong here. This is SCUBA BOARD and the forum is UNDERWATER HUNTING.

Ditto.

ScottZeagle · Feb 15, 2005

From the "sticky" on the top of this page:

The Underwater Hunting Forum is here to discuss where to hunt, how to hunt, hunting equipment, seafood recipes and hunting adventures. It is not the place for folks who are not underwater hunters (or at least have an interest in becoming underwater hunters). If you're here to complain about spearfishing or lobstering or any other kind of hunting underwater you've come to the wrong place.

Rick Murchison · Feb 15, 2005

plongeursousmarin:
I used to spearfish in Europe and over there legislation prohibits hunting on scuba. You get caught, you get a fine and your equipment is confiscated. It is forbidden to have both scuba equipment and spearguns on a boat. Anyway it's a big no-no. Anyone doing that is considered a poacher. Thoughts?

When I lived in Belgium, ('85-'88) my fishing license was for only half the country - but there was precious little in the way of public waters... I had to join a fishing club that had rights to fish along a short piece of one stream, and I did a fair amount of fishing, but no catching.
When I dove in the Med around Naples and Ischia I never saw a fish that would much exceed the size of "bait" here in Alabama. All across Europe, in the markets and in the restaurants it was rare to see any fish of any size, aside from the occasional monkfish.
My impression was that the Europeans had overfished their waters to the point that there was precious little left. Personally I felt that Europe desperately needed to establish some very large no-take zones to allow the fish populations to recover.
That was nearly 20 years ago... I don't know what it's like now.
Rick

Not to start a flame war or anything

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