BURNING SPEAR

Brendan O'Brien's Deep Breath column in May asked what was wrong with spearfishing. We thought it would get a big reaction, and it did.

FOR spearfishing At last in Brendan O'Brien we have someone expressing commonsense views. Most divers I know enjoy eating fish, and responsible spearfishing is the least damaging way in which to catch them (fish, not divers). More power to those taking a balanced, reasoned, logical view. Richard Harris Billericay, Essex As a spearfishing enthusiast with 35 years' experience, my answer is that there is nothing wrong with spearfishing, and that taking a fish with a spear is more humane and selective than most other catching methods, provided it is carried out safely and responsibly. The old BSAC rule "never use a speargun with an aqualung" should be respected, not just because it is considered unsportsmanlike and unfair to fish, which it is, but principally because a speargun is a potentially deadly weapon and would pose an unacceptably high risk to a buddy. Safety catches are unreliable and misfires can occur. Competitive spearfishing lost support in the UK diving community during the '60s and '70s when inedible, easy-to-shoot fish such as wrasse were often shot simply to boost a competitor's score. I witnessed some of the excesses and vowed to remain a lone hunter. The only difference between me shooting fish with my speargun while free-diving, and the average scuba diver stabbing flatties with his knife or cramming shellfish into his bag, is the degree of difficulty involved. I need breath-holding, stalking and marksmanship skills to catch my wary, darting quarry. I know from many years in the BSAC that the majority of divers take home something for the pot, and that this practice is rarely frowned upon. When aqualung-toting divers hit the seabed it's open season on anything that goes well with a bottle of Chablis. That's OK by me, but please leave me to catch my dinner my way. I don't need their fingers wagging hypocritically in my face. It seems to be only divers who pontificate against spearfishing. I am frequently approached by people on shore who wish me well, ask intelligent questions and are sensible enough to realise that there is little difference between the dead fish on my belt and those they buy from the fishmonger. Let's accept that the underwater world is big enough to support a wide range of activities. Ian Skelton Saltash, Cornwall Having spearfished in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, I have come to respect the underwater environment and marine life as much, if not more, than the ecologist/scuba diver. In more than 2000 open-water free dives over 19 years, I have seen a decline in fish stocks in our oceans. This decline concerns responsible free-diving spearfishermen and scuba divers alike. If it continues, we will all lose out. The blue-water hunter frequents areas outside the realms of reef spearfishermen and scuba divers, often as far as 20 miles out to sea, and will search out a particular species only, his target being the large pelagic species that roam the oceans. I believe this to be the only future for spearfishing! The days of spearfishing for reef species are quickly coming to an end. Dave Dodenhoff Lydiate, Merseyside Brendan O'Brien's understandably apologetic style is typical of the attitude we have almost subconsciously been forced to adopt, when speaking of activities we enjoy but think may be frowned on by some in this politically correct and over-regulated country of ours. I am a recent convert to diving, but have spent much of my leisure time over the past 40 years "hunting, shooting and fishing". Nature provides a replenishable harvest that is there for the taking and should be taken. Sporting methods have evolved over generations, and those involved have learnt what is or is not acceptable, and generally abide by those rules, written or unwritten. Sea-fishing is no different, whether using hook and bait or a spear, except that as spearfishing is more selective it must be the better and more efficient method. The thing is not to be greedy and to respect the species, the law and the land or water being hunted. I suspect that the BSAC's "Never use a speargun with an aqualung" has more to do with wanting to promote a squeaky-clean image to the world than any thought that it will make an iota of difference to fish stocks. As a novice it was not my intention to take up spearfishing, but I see no reason to stop anyone else. A relatively small number of spearfishing scuba divers could not measurably affect fish stocks compared to the carnage caused by the trawler fleets. In a generation or two the only seafish on the menu could be those taken by divers, as the stock will be so depleted that trawling and the like will not be commercially viable. Remember that on terra firma the hunting, shooting and fishing community does more in the name of real conservation than all the politically motivated "conservation" groups put together. David Gilby Shaftesbury, Dorset

AGAINST spearfishing Spearfishing is indeed a selective process, the diver's first choice being the largest fish! Unfortunately these also happen to be the most sexually reproductive, and by taking them home for dinner the result can be a sharp downturn in the population's ability to reproduce itself. Some fish populations compensate for this by becoming sexually mature at a younger age, but these premature adults often produce fewer offspring. Mix this with the pressures placed on the remaining population by a diver hell-bent on sating his appetite by spearing smaller fish, and you have a recipe for disaster. Brendan may be oblivious to the adverse effects of recreational spearfishers on the fish stocks along swathes of Mediterranean, Red Sea, South-east Asian, Australian and many other coastlines, but many divers I have met have voluntarily hung up their spearguns. Brendan makes a good point about overfishing and the wasteful techniques that have resulted in global crashes in fish stocks - even our lowly cod is now an endangered species. What possible justification is there for sport divers to add to the problem? So, Brendan, will you ever use a speargun? My advice is to stick to photography. Peter Raines Director, Coral Cay Conservation While I realise that Brendan O'Brien was being slightly tongue in cheek, his logic is that if more people go spearfishing there will be a decrease in demand for trawled fish, leading to less trawling. Clearly huge numbers of people would have to go spearfishing for this to happen. I can just imagine the damage caused to the coast and coastal waters of the UK if everyone who wanted fish and chips on a Friday night went spearfishing. In reality any fish removed by spearfishing will be removed in addition to commercially caught fish. This can only increase depletion of fish stocks. Surely this would seriously compromise relations between the BSAC and organisations such as the Marine Conservation Society? B Tatton Macclesfield Sport usually means that both sides have a chance to win, so unless spearfishermen are willing to go up against something like a great white shark they can't really call it a sport. No, their prey is usually some small, harmless fish that doesn't stand a chance. Yes, today's fishing methods are out of date and responsible for the destruction of fish stocks. But a dead fish is still a dead fish. How many spearfishermen can tell if the fish they are about to kill is a female ready to lay eggs? How many can even identify some of the common species they see on dive trips? How many will stick to the rules anyway? I was on a boat with a guy who had taken more than his share, and asked the other divers to claim them. I dived with another guy who thought his knife was there simply to stab everything in sight. He couldn't wait to get a speargun. Even his girlfriend was appalled at his behaviour. The danger is all too obvious. Diving in low viz the spearfishermen still want their dinner, and I have seen some near-misses. But the main reason spearfishing makes me so sad is that it destroys those fish most of us go to see. In France last summer I came across an octopus living in some rocks. It was great to dive down every day and point him out to other divers. A few days later I saw a spearfisherman walking up the beach with the octopus hanging on the end of his speargun. I felt both sadness and anger. His need to kill had taken away the pleasure of visiting the octopus and robbed it of its life. Spearfishing is outdated at a time when most of us want to catch marine life only on film. There might be plenty of the giant Californian halibut that Brendan O'Brien saw killed with a speargun, but how would he feel if it turned out to be the last of its species? And before you ask, no, I don't eat fish. David Bull Marazion, Cornwall I agree that spearfishing deserves cool and rational consideration rather than the current situation, which seems to be: "We don't do it because we don't do it." And having given the practice cool and rational consideration I find myself very much against it. Like Brendan I enjoy eating fish, so it would be hypocritical to object on the grounds of not wishing to hurt the poor, helpless creatures. I do however much enjoy seeing live fish swimming by when I am diving, and this is possible only if they do not see us as a threat, as I am sure they soon would if spearfishing became common in Britain. I wholeheartedly agree with Brendan's comments on the greed and inefficiency of the fishing industry, but it is irrelevant. We all see far fewer fish now when diving than we did a few years ago, but this is an argument for changing and tightening the law, not for bringing back another way of catching fish. But thank you Brendan for the article, and thank you Diver for printing it. I don't think this, or any other diving-related subject, should be taboo. Grant Ragsdale Leeds