Spearfishing

[Iguana Don]

I don't call it challenging when you have an advantage over someone or a species. To me it would be a challenge if you went one on one with the fish, then it could be called a sport. You say it's only 1%, yes you are correct, but that's 1% that doesn't need to be taken.

Why can we not just enjoy the last frontier and not screw it up like we have done everywhere else?

Fish have no reason to fear man, if you will notice the swim right up to you, how long will it be before they become like land animals and flee every time they catch sight of man. And our reefs and are desolate of any life except for us.

I used to hunt and I use to fish, but when I moved to the country and started diving I gained a new respect for what Nature has provided us with. I have deer that come to my back yard to eat, and in the water I can get within a foot of most fish. What a truly remarkable experience. I wish that everyone could look at nature as I do with a new respect.

ID

 

[DEEP SEA]

I can see them banning the commercial guys who use power heads. I can't count the times I went out and came back without anything. See lots of fish, just not the ones I wanted!

 

[Mario S Caner]

Deep Sea, I'm the same way, I don't shoot fish just for the hell of it. I wait for the one big one, and if it doesn't come along then oh well, I still had fun in the water.

Speaking of fun in the water. I just got out of the water with a former student of mine. (I've certified him all the way through Master Scuba Diver) Now he's a great buddy. I had the pleasure of introducing him to both a Full Face Mask and Communication Gear for the first time, and he's hooked for life! We turned an otherise dull night dive with 10ft of viz into a great time. The dive was cut a little short (18min) when his computer crapped out on him... No Don, it wasn't a Cochran... Though I had a spare computer in the car, we chose to dive again on Sunday.

I'll also be diving tomorrow, if anyone is interested in diving the Yukon, drop me a line!

 

[gregor]

Originally posted by GetWet
Hi gang,
I have a question about spearfishermen ( or fisherpersons).

i just don't like spearfishing and ppl who do so. we should be grateful that we've got the technology and possibility to dive and get a glance at the underwater-world. if you don't know, most species are endangered, reason for this are *we* humans. so why do spearfishing? just for fun?
no thanks!

killing for fun is a pain in the ass!

remember: just take pictures, just leave bubbles

gregor

 

[Warhammer]

Originally posted by gregor

Originally posted by GetWet
Hi gang,
I have a question about spearfishermen ( or fisherpersons).

i just don't like spearfishing and ppl who do so. we should be grateful that we've got the technology and possibility to dive and get a glance at the underwater-world. if you don't know, most species are endangered, reason for this are *we* humans. so why do spearfishing? just for fun?
no thanks!

killing for fun is a pain in the ass!

remember: just take pictures, just leave bubbles

gregor

I assume you're a vegatarian, no? Or is it that you just perfer someone else kill the meat that you eat?

Most species are endangered? Hardly so, sure some are and we should protect those. We should also use the ones that aren't, sparingly, but to stop hunting and spearing altogether is obsurd. The simple fact is that hunting or spearing in a controlled manner helps protect the game or fish, not endanger them.

 

[gregor]

Originally posted by Warhammer
I assume you're a vegatarian, no? Or is it that you just perfer someone else kill the meat that you eat?

Most species are endangered? Hardly so, sure some are and we should protect those. We should also use the ones that aren't, sparingly, but to stop hunting and spearing altogether is obsurd. The simple fact is that hunting or spearing in a controlled manner helps protect the game or fish, not endanger them.

well i'm not a vegetarian, just seen too many guys spearfishing and *not* having the fish for dinner but as a souvenir or just dump it at the beach. if you hunt animals because you want to eat the meat, ok. anything else is imho an expression of a weird state of mind.

and do *u* know which fish belongs to an endangered species or not? u know, if a parkranger shoots a bear or a deer or whatsoever and tells me that this has to be done to protect nature, i'm gonna believe this guy since he's educated to protect nature & do his job. if a private guy shoots a wild pig with the same argument, in 99% of the cases this argument is wrong and those guys just take it as an excuse to kill. same goes for the underwater world.

i don't know wherefrom you are. if you dive in places where everything underwater is fine, no species is endangered, coralls are in good condition, great. unfortunatley i don't know one single place with this condition. even in places where not too many tourists/divers are going to the underwaterworld is already threatened by mankind - but: i don't know all places, so maybe the places you're diving are the exceptions.

last not least: i also killed animals to have something to eat on an army-survival-training and i think that's ok - but i would *never* ever do it for fun.

cheers

gregor

 

[The Chairman]

Hey All,

I am not a spearfisherman, and I don't play one on TV. I like to take only pictures, but I respect the right of others to point and shoot Spear-guns, if that is what they want to do. I do not beleive that we have as much impact on the environment as many think we do. Where we can make a difference, of course we should. However, I can not but wonder at how nature re-tools anytime there is a new variable introduced into her system.

Mt St Helens put more pollutants in the air than man has generated since before the industrial revolution. There were more specie extinctions before man came on the scene than there are current specie now... by many factors of ten. The force of a hurricane can wipe out an entire species in a few hours. I see blaming the entire human race for the state of the environment as short sighted and counter productive.

Now, please keep in mind, I am an avid conservationist. I practice the LNT (Leave no Trace) concepts even when no one is looking. Make that ESPECIALLY when no one is looking. I hate litter, and participate in river clean-ups, and I have never hunted... anything. Still, I beleive that I do NOT have the right to try and legislate something so germaine to our roots as a species as hunting. It is atavistic and primal, and I could never in good conscience try and disuade those NATURAL urges that many have.

Do we not have the right to collectively legislate the harvesting of specific endangered specie? Of course, as long as we do not try to "micro-manage" the fishermen to having no fun at all. Then there will be the backlash of people trying to circumvent the laws and all of that crap. It is best to restrain fishing only in moderation, and let moderation be our guide. People have harvested the seas for eons... just as other fish and mammals have done. Whether it is done for food, pleasure, or other primal urge, is not for me decide. It is a personal choice and should remain that way.

Pete from Orlando...

 

[Warhammer]

NetDoc...I respect your choice to not hunt and/or spear. That's just what it is, your choice. The fact that you don't and I do, doesn't make me dislike you in the least bit, which is the way I took gregor statement.

gregor....

"i just don't like spearfishing and ppl who do so."

That statement is what offended me. It appears I took it a way that you didn't mean for it to be taken, I applogize for that if that's the case.

I was taught to never kill any wildlife, fish, or any other living creature unless I intended to eat or otherwise make use of the same. I don't, and never have, killed any animal for fun alone. I'm an avid hunter and use to be an avid fisherman. I occassionally spearfish on scuba, rarely, but I do. Usually as a result of being with a certain group I dive with occassionally who always spearfish. The fish we take are Amber Jack and a few others. The fish are usually cooked that very day and we've never taken one for the fun of it. I'm not up on the latest Endangered Species listings, but I doubt any of the fish we take are on that list. If they are, then shame on the Game and Fish Commission for allowing them to be taken. IMHO, spearfishing is the most humane and least intrusive method of fishing. I only take my target fish and I cause no harm to any other fish. Fisherman using nets, traps, and even poles, can't say the same.

 

[Fandango]

Man can't seem to go anywhere just to look, we all got to kill something. Myself included I fish hook and line but I don't swim up to them and shoot them with a spear, not much challenge with scuba. Just stay back from anyone diving with something sharp.

 

[100days-a-year]

Altho I agree that we should all disagree peaceably.I'll give you an example of a less than un-challenging spear-fishing dive.Last spring while diving in 62 degree water 1- 1/2 kt current; 20 ft vis;18 miles from shore I looked up after shooting my dinner (a hogfish)and discovered that one of Neptune's denisons had plans for MY dinner. As he was 8-10 ft long and white on the bottom I tossed(no mean feat) my fish at him and departed post-haste.The same day we caught our legal limit of snapper by hook&line in the space of an hour or two.Somewhat of a challenge.We routinely conduct deco dives to satisfy our in-human lust for crustaceans.My other point takes less time to make.The GOD I believe in was a fisherman,therefore it is a noble pursuit and occupation in my eyes,as long as all prudent rules and game laws are followed.Oh and by the way find out where the money for all those parks and patrols and all that research comes from.......Thats right thet are paid by licseces,fees and excise taxes on sporting goods.Class dismissed