Views on underwater hunting

[Rhone Man]

Someone once wrote that trying to determine the course of global warming looking at climate over the last 100 years is like trying to decide who will win the 100 metres after the runners have travelled a distance equal to the width of a pencil.

Except that measurements in tree rings, ice cores, ocean sediments, and rocks can take you back much further in time.

We have the last 100 years, pretty accurately, can do a decent job on the last 1,000 years. Even the past 10,000 we can get useful stuff. Further back than that it starts to get ropey (relying geological evidence to determine climate shifts is possible but certainly not very refined). Extrapolating this to determine changes relative to the 4,600,000,000 years since the earth was formed is invariably a speculative exercise.

Rate of extinction is similarly ropey. I was once told that approximately 3 species become extinct every day (and this pattern has largely not changed for billions of years), and that 99.7% of all forms of life that have ever existed on earth are now extinct. I took that all as gospel. But sadly it is bollocks. No one knows. No one even knows how many species we have at the moment, with the estimates coming in between 5 million and 100 million. That is quite a margin of error.

As someone or other once famously said: "only fools are ever certain; wise men are never sure." I am no global warming skeptic, but I acknowledge the limits of what we really know.

 

[cocoajoe]

At my level....only been diving for a little over a year..... I have not seriously entertained the idea of hunting. I 'know my role' and do not consider myself experienced enough to hunt at this level.

But I had to jump in on the conservation thing. Although I'm a new diver, I have fished, surfed and pretty much tried about everything having to do with the rivers and ocean. And that includes commerical fishing. And I can tell you first hand, there's an incredible amount...think tons....of fish that are dumped back in to die because the markets don't pay anything for them.

Spearfishing as well as all recreational fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to commerical fishing.

 

[Mike Boswell]

At my level....only been diving for a little over a year..... I have not seriously entertained the idea of hunting. I 'know my role' and do not consider myself experienced enough to hunt at this level.

But I had to jump in on the conservation thing. Although I'm a new diver, I have fished, surfed and pretty much tried about everything having to do with the rivers and ocean. And that includes commerical fishing. And I can tell you first hand, there's an incredible amount...think tons....of fish that are dumped back in to die because the markets don't pay anything for them.

Spearfishing as well as all recreational fishing is a drop in the bucket compared to commerical fishing.

In terms of global tonnage, that is true. But a few spearfishermen can wipe out a reef or a kelp forest in a few years. Off San Diego in 1950, we once had lobster, abalone, Black sea bass, Broomtail grouper, etc. etc. By 1980 many of these species were fished out. The exact same scenario has taken place all over the world.

 

[drdaddy]

I always (in allowed areas) take my speargun and bag with me. I pass up shooting fish every time I dive. But if there is something particularly inviting, like a big lingcod or a nice dungeness crab, I nab it. Also, if I find a beer can or wrappers, I also bag them.

I am angry when I see and hear of guys that come in and shoot all they can, come back later and steal another (illegal) limit. I love seeing lots of fish and other critters and do not kill everything in sight.

Now, about dungeness crab dives. There are a zillion tons of dungeness crabs offshore and they are heavily regulated because of the sustained commercial harvest. When they crawl into the the Alsea Crab Hole, I don't mind getting limit after limit and we eat them like crazy.

While sometimes the regulations are a pain, I appreciate the sustained yield that results in lots of game for us. And when a location is cleaned out, it quickly recovers because of this management. However, it is not appreciated when someone goes diving and "harvests" all the easy takings in a particular location with the results being, no one else gets to see the wild fish.

 

[toddthecat]

I spearfish in both mountain lakes and the ocean during vacation. My rule is to only shoot what I (and friends) are going to eat. I've also hunted deer in the past. I've never gone out and shot animals or fish just to do it. I do it as a means for food...

Spearfishing is just like regular fishing. It's just a means to an end, or in my case, they're just means to a dinner

 

[Sas]

How much are polar bears worth? How about a Bangladeshi or two?

Humans , last time I checked, are costed at about 6-7 million each. I'm not sure about polar bears.

 

[waterpirate]

I think the polar bears and sharks should have a human season and limit. Darwin at work is fine with me. If you go into the sea like bait, you become bait, or woods,glacier,the wrong side of town.
Eric

 

[Crush]

For those who seek a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, please refer to IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . I'd be happy to discuss the issue presented therein with anyone who is truly interested.

 

[Mike Boswell]

For those who seek a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, please refer to IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . I'd be happy to discuss the issue presented therein with anyone who is truly interested.

I would love to discuss these issues with others who are interested. So as not to further derail the OP's thread, this morning I started a new thread on the topic. Hope to see you there.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ad...0895-protecting-what-we-love.html#post5600867

 

[Hank49]

I free dive spearfish every week weather permitting. I'm not against scuba spearing but the Belize government is.
I do like to eat fish and I have 10 mouths to feed in my house, but that's only part of the reason.
I have a smile on my face while heading out on my boat with a couple buddies early in the morning, pulling up to one of our spots, seeing crystal clear water and activity on the surface, the thrill of the hunt and the kill. I don't know why. But stalking fish while free diving down, hiding on the bottom, or crawling up on them near their "house" and nailing them unsuspectingly....I love it. Floating in the blue and having a mackerel, king or wahoo come cruising through, diving down and intersecting his line....I'm getting older and don't dream about sex so much anymore...now I dream about wahoo.
Plus it's great exercise free diving for 4-5 hours.