Freediver death after spearing Jewfish (Goliath Grouper)

[DandyDon]

Unfortunate lose of the free diver. I've never spearfished, but should a free diver fire on a large fish? I have read a book on early spear fishers off of Louisiana and how they got pulled a lot by big fish - one killed from an embolism when the fish went for the surface. I wonder if the free diver had a knife?

So, harmless nurse sharks are killed after a shark attack, sting rays are being slaughtered this week, what now - grouper round-ups?

 

[DanBMW]

Too bad we'll never know the whole story and I do feel sorry for the divers family, not the diver. There are few excuses in trying to kill an endangered fish and all I can say is good karma! Pretty hard to mistakenly shoot a fish that big.

 

[El Orans]

*** Mod post ***

Gentlemen,
this thread resides in the Accident & Analysis forum.
Jokes are not desired here.

*** Mod post ***​

 

[DandyDon]

*** Mod post ***

Gentlemen,
this thread resides in the Accident & Analysis forum.
Jokes are not desired here.

*** Mod post ***​

Thanks for the kind reminder. It is challenging not to, but I didn't - hope it didn't seem that way. Thanks for changing title, too.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Goliath groupers (Jewfish) are highly endangered and protected by Florida law. Over the years, scuba divers with spearguns had a lot to do with the decline, since the adults, being huge, have very large territorial requirements, have never been numerous, and make big, easy, tempting targets for some people.

In your opinion on multiple counts....

 

[Splitlip]

It is a tragedy and I am sad for those the diver leaves behind.

I will be very disappointed though if it turns out the hunter was a local. If this is the case, then he knew it was a protected Goliath. There is sadly an underground market in the Keys for the Goliaths' flesh.

 

[wreckchick]

I wouldn't say that. I know that people do shoot them on purpose occasionally, but it's not really an underground, black-market thing. It's pretty hard to tell one grouper meat from another without seeing the actual fish.

Rachel

 

[DandyDon]

It is a tragedy and I am sad for those the diver leaves behind.

I will be very disappointed though if it turns out the hunter was a local. If this is the case, then he knew it was a protected Goliath. There is sadly an underground market in the Keys for the Goliaths' flesh.

The news article said he was a 42 yo Florida man, but - maybe not a regular spear fisher, maybe didn't know?

 

[Splitlip]

I wouldn't say that. I know that people do shoot them on purpose occasionally, but it's not really an underground, black-market thing. It's pretty hard to tell one grouper meat from another without seeing the actual fish.

Rachel

I hope that is the case. You live down there presently and probably know better than I.
I married a Conch and the inlaws are located from KW up through Tavernier. Some are/were commercial fishemen, and most recreational divers and anglers. Many of the old time Conchs have a laisssez-faire philosophy when it comes to government regs.
You might remember "_"'s _______ got busted a number of years ago. Seems their Jewfish sandwhiches were just that.

 

[agilis]

TwoBitTxn: I'm aware of the rebound in Goliath Grouper numbers in certain limited areas, but the fact remains that they are still protected, and still endangered. There may be lots more than there were in the 1990s, but they have always been relatively few in number, and are still not nearly as numerous or widespread as they were several decades ago. There remain many problematic issues concerning this fish, including sex ratios, juvenile numbers, and distribution throughout its former range.

A few seasons of exploding powerhead equiped artisanal harvesters might be a problem. Of course, you are correct: it is only my opinion (on several counts), and it's probably meanspirited to deprive people of what they regard as high adventure and great fun.