Dir take on speargunning

[Cave Diver]

My own view? I can only talk from a recreational point here!

Don't do it. It's not necessary to enjoy diving.

It's not necessary to shoot a deer to enjoy a walk through the woods, but look how many people do that.

For some people, the HUNT is what they enjoy and the diving is just a means to an end.

 

[Genesis]

My personal view is that unless you are going to consume what you kill, or it is threatening you, then you should not kill it.

But that is my personal view on this. I hunt and fish (with both a hook and a speargun) but I consume what I take from the land (and ocean) - and I see nothing wrong with either.

Indeed, I see a lot right with doing it this way, compared to the mistaken belief that chicken grows in cellophane packages in the grocery store. You only need to see ONE commercial chicken farm or beef slaughter-house to understand.

 

[pipedope]

It's not necessary to shoot a deer to enjoy a walk through the woods, but look how many people do that.

I don't shoot a deer to enjoy a walk in the woods. I shoot the deer to enjoy the venison.

I don't collect abalone to enjoy the dive but to enjoy the dinner.
I don't eat bugs but I will grab them in season because friends will trade their abalone for my bugs.

 

[Scubakevdm]

DIR spearishing requires three D-rings on your primary speargun, and at a minimum a Hawaiian sling for redundancy.

 

[dbulmer]

Genesis,
Yes I understand perfectly. That's ok by me.


NWGratefulDiver,
I am not sure what to make of your last reply:-


"My point ... if Uncle Pug's no-troll rule is to be worthwhile (and I do support it), then bashing other agencies shouldn't be allowed in here either.

Crispos should, by rights, have earned a vacation ..."

If it is intended as serious then I think it's an overreaction. I am not DIR myself but do dive with DIR people and they're great fun to be with. I have no issue with DIR/PADI whatever, whatsoever. And I thought Crispos was very witty !

If you are jesting, well I may have got the wrong end of the stick!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

NWGratefulDiver,
I am not sure what to make of your last reply:-

If it is intended as serious then I think it's an overreaction. I am not DIR myself but do dive with DIR people and they're great fun to be with. I have no issue with DIR/PADI whatever, whatsoever. And I thought Crispos was very witty !

If you are jesting, well I may have got the wrong end of the stick!

Not jesting ... nor did I find it particularly witty. No more so than if someone had come in here and said something similar, but substituting GUE for PADI-aware.

A troll is a troll. Let's keep in mind that some found this comment witty also ...

"I will be doing a DIR trip and will require the DIR chicken and rice so as to not upset the normal gastric flora and potentially place my jejunum out of trim. "

And yet many in the DIR community found it objectionable.

I don't personally see the difference ... both were unnecessary swipes at a particular segments of our readership, and neither furthers the kind of discussion this forum is here to engender.

If we're going to have a no-trolling policy, then it has to work both ways. Otherwise, it's simply an invitation for those so inclined to take one-way swipes at others, while at the same time being "safe" from responses in kind.

Uncle Pug made the policy ... it either needs to be enforced fairly or rescinded.

This was all discussed at http://69.93.91.170/t45157.html

But if the DIR folks don't want people taking pot-shots at their programs, then they need to avoid taking pot-shots at other people's programs as well.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dbulmer]

Fair enough. We'll agree to disagree.

 

[crispos]

Just watched the Britannic documentary for the umpteenth time, and I have only admiration when I watch Jarrod Jablonski, GUE and DIR teammates. They make extreme diving look easy, but it isn't.

Yes, cheap shots can make some uninformed people formulate adverse or incorrect opinions. Sorry about that. You are right. I just have to get off my fanny and get my technical diving career going again instead of making fun.

It won't happen again. dbulmer, glad you didn't take offense.

OK, let's enjoy the SuperBowl!

 

[FredT]

Boogie,


Where do you keep the speargun - does it dangle off a wing/BC? If so, how close can your buddy get to you in an emergency ie OOA without a) Puncturing himself or you 2) Takes more time to get to you 3) Could puncture wing/BC and/or drysuit/wetsuit. 4) Probably cares more about the prey than his buddy 5) May like to dive solo - (heh for those of you who like solo diving that's your choice - I'd probably die at my current skill level so I would not do it)

The speargun belongs in your HAND! It should NEVER be clipped off or tied to anything you need to survive!

Given that proper weapons handling rules are the same above and below the water a) through 3) are non-events and will not happen. Put the fantasy world away now.

4) wrong buddy! Team hunting takes serious skill development.

5) Also a valid answer, but solo diving skills are a REQUIREMENT for safe spearfishing. No buddy is going to keep up with a 70 pound finnd DPV.

Boogie,
Secondly, possibility of attracting unwanted sea life ie largish sharks which increases the probability of an incident and adds stress to the dive.

Risk control is part of the game. If all else fails most sharks are quite good on the grill, smoked, jerked, baked, or fried.

Boogie,
Thirdly, fish are precious enought and killing 'em underwater with a speargun just isn't cricket - why not go fishing instead where it becomes a fairer game.

Spearfishing is THE most effecient and ecologically sound method of collecting fish and shellfish for the table. The harvested fish is killed cleanly, and nothing else gets hurt. The line left by the hook and line folks keeps killing for years if not decades. The nightmare commercial fishing techniques impose on the ecosystem is nucular holocaust by comparison.

Next time you're down see if you can get close enough to a large untame fish to touch him. A spearfishing shot is generally made at distances of less than a spear's length. It's like hunting bear with a slingshot, much harder than the hook and line technique. I fished with a pole for decades. Limiting out was never a problem once I understood the target species. To be successful hunting fish you have to be a hole in the water, and non-threatening right up to the shot. Ambush hunting is a rather unique skill.

BTW I've rarely heard of a hooked fish killing the line fisherman. We loose several divers every year here in the Gulf of Mexico to fish, and often one or more to the tax collectors. Nothing is fairer than when the prey has a chance to win with YOUR death.

Boogie,
Finally, if a speargun misses from an inexperienced bloke, it could cause damage to a reef/coral or other endangered sealife.

It also totals the spear and/or speartip. This is quickly self-correcting and hunters rapidly learn not to shoot towards hard stuff. Weapons rules require knowledge of where the shot will strike. If you don't KNOW, don't shoot!

FT

 

[FredT]

In many countries spearfishing with scuba is forbiden but it's allowed on a breath hold.

US fishing rules are based on recruitment levels, minimum sizes and restricted take for everybody to manage a renewable resource.

The "sustained yield" method is what is important here, so the rules for everybody including the commercial guys are adjusted to maintain the maximum biomass that can be taken every year without reducing the next year's catch.

Other countries simply restrict participation and methods. Brit legacy countries restrict method more than take. It's jsut a different way to get to the same sustained yield point. Much more descriminatory, but that is your opolitical problem.

FT