Charters and Spearfishing

[jlayman800]

Hey All, I have enjoyed reading your opinions. I'm glad I chose to whine here. I believe I have heard every side of the argument and have learned by the process. Thanks for reading and contributing. JL

 

[pipedope]

I believe an ecological terrorist is exactly what she is. Just like somebody that ties theirself to a tree to prevent it from being harvested.


By the way, they were very nice to me on the dive. My only whine is about the spear fishing.

Let me see.

You seem to have confused terrorist and ACTIVIST. I STRONGLY suggest that you look them both up before posting again.

 

[LioKai]

I haven't seen any other charter owners/captains respond yet, so here I go.

I do not allow smoking, spearfishing, or taking, of any kind on our boat. Make no mistake in my wording here, there is only one person in charge of the boat, the Captain. If the Captain speaks, it is law. And that is every boat, not just mine. The other reason is insurance. My insurance bill is near $3000 a month. If I allowed spearing (and smoking) the cost would nearly double. Yes, I said three thousand a month.

Only 30% of the Kona coast is closed to fish collecting and I hope to see COMMERICIAL spearfishing banned, and all spearfishing on scuba banned completely, and here is why:

In a few hours of scuba diving and spearing at night, one diver can (and has) wipeout a species in a given area. This is a specific target zone I am talking about. Fish sleep, and hunting a sleeping fish is wrong, no matter if you are commericial or sport.

Some also nest. For example, the 'Fine Scale Trigger' (approx 20-30lbs) female will "sit" on her nest for 12-16 hours until her eggs spawn. She will not feed during this time so she will not be caught by line and hook, and she will not leave her nest. Her male will defend the territory against preditors. This makes them exceptionally easy prey for a spearo. This is only one example.

This philosophy of 'no hunting on scuba' was brought to my attention by the local spearfishing shop owner. He does not allow or advocate hunting on scuba either, and he owns the shop.

Many fish are unfairly killed by the uneducated spearo. By uneducated I mean those who do not reasearch and clearly understand the animal that they hunt. The Trigger that I mentioned above, and sleeping fish, are only one example.

From the original post, it was stated that the diver didn't know in advance of the boat policy. I have two comments here:
1) It was YOUR responsibility to ask in advance.
2) If somone cancels on my boat for any reason, and the charter is not soldout, I refund the full ammount of the charter to that person, because I couldn't fill that seat anyway. However, if the charter is soldout, your cancellation has cost me a charter diver, you pay the full ammount. It is all clearly stated in the paperwork and on the website.

As for the individual who mentioned the whale ride, riding is wrong. Especially riding of mammals. If I witnessed someone doing that I would turn them in.

I used to hunt, then one day I stopped, I couldn't kill them any longer. That was 6 years ago. Now I hunt with a camera. I shoot video of aquatic behaviors. I have friends that hunt, we help each other with an understanding of the ocean realm for both hunting and conservation purposes. My videos are used (for free) for underwater education in the local school system and for underwater education on local television (also for free).

Matthew J D'Avella
Dive Makai Charters
Kona Hawaii

 

[SpearSlinger1]

I do not allow smoking, spearfishing, or taking, of any kind on our boat.

Rules like this are why I'll swim out from a beach, and do, before I'll set foot on any charter boat.

I've pretty much quit scuba diving in favor of freediving after finding that because my time in the water isn't limited by a tank I can stay in the water much longer, I can cover a lot more area without a lot of unnecessary and bulky gear and I don't blow bubbles. Doing or not doing these things, as the case may be, allows me to kill more fish, octopus, squid and lobster per trip than I ever did on scuba. Sometimes a lot more.

Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against folks that spear on scuba. I've done it before and I may again some day, but for now I've found freediving to be more effective.

#1 (12 yr. old son) does freedive spearing just like his old man, and with his own Riffe. :14:

 

[minervamar]

I'm curious ... and this is a serious question ...

To what end do you spearfish sharks? Are they really edible? What breed of sharks are we talking about here?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob,

Sharks are consumed worldwide. In most countries, people eat or sell whatever fish they catch, including what you would consider aquarium fish.

Fish buyers give a good price for Mako and Thresher. The steaks from these can be mistaken for swordfish.

Dogfish are used for fish and chips and other dishes in some countries.

Skate wings are popular, and are usually eaten raw in Korea, as it is considered a stamina food.

Most sharks are not as tasty as Mako, but they are edible.
I have not heard of any kind that is not edible.

The skin of some kind of Skate is made into leather. There are bumps in the skin that form beautiful symmetric patterns. Luxury items such as belts and wallets are made from the leather.

Perhaps the biggest number of sharks are killed for their fins, from which soup is made. Have you heard of shark fin soup?

I guess you have, as you ask if sharks are "really edible".

Yes, they are, and really large quantities of them are consumed. Sharks are not an exception to all of the living things from the ocean that are being consumed.

Mike

 

[CBulla]

I'm curious ... and this is a serious question ...

To what end do you spearfish sharks? Are they really edible? What breed of sharks are we talking about here?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I'll expound upon the above post. I've eaten shark all my life. I've never sold the skin, though i've kept a few jaws for the wall. As far as edibility, it is very good. All the shark I've eaten is a light white flakey meat thats somewhat sweet. The best way to cook, IMHO, is over open fire and the meat cut into steaks, not fillets. The fire should contain hickory or oak or both. Cook with the fire cool and wood smoking so that the meat cooks slow and even.

If you were in FL I'd invite you over for a sample.

 

[SpearSlinger1]

Doing or not doing these things, as the case may be, allows me to kill more fish, octopus, squid and lobster per trip than I ever did on scuba.

I neglected to mention that we don't take all these species every time we go, but of the fish we take both pelagics and reef fish.

Also, it's true that I don't stay as deep as long freediving as I did on scuba, but the longest of the lines I made for the float that I tow is 20 meters (65') long so that's as deep as I hunt. I use a shorter line for hunting shallower areas.

Enough said. Please excuse me while I go out on the porch and have another Camel non-filter.

 

[Reidfish]

Interesting thread for a wandering freedive spearo like me to bump into after work. I'll answer the question: If you want to spearfish, it is your responsibility to find out if you can on a charter boat. No argument. These days, YOU need to check first because there are plenty of reasons (some valid, some not) that you may not be welcome.

The skipper is the boss, so like it or lump it. Find a skipper that will take you out for some spearfishing if you want to. It is usually pretty useless when there are bubble -blowers scaring the fish away anyway, and they dive for like 45 minutes at a time and want to move on. It is workable with the right people/skipper, but only causes frustration if someone is not happy.

To the scubie-doo divers: most serious spearo's are embarassed to hear of people spearing at night, commercial spearing, spearing all the reef fish in an area, spearing sharks etc. Those people are ostracised from our groups just as they should be from other groups. Scuba spearfishing? Well, it's OK, but sometimes done by novice spearo's who shoot everything thet moves - poor form. Experienced spearo's on scuba who only take what they can eat - go for it.

Most charter operators are pretty fair. The problem is with ignorance spearo's face in Australia regarding freediving now, and elsewhere where irresponsible spearo's have blasted all the reef fish 'for fun' causing upsets and prejudice against the responsible majority.

Shoot only what you can eat fresh.Then go back to the boat and get your camera!

 

[LioKai]

Excellent post REIDFISH.

Your post reads, nearly word for word, the voice of the spearo shop owner here in Kona Hawaii. I have great respect for him, and he lives by his word.

Mahalo
LioKai