its still the luck of the draw with spear fishing. its true we are looking for larger fish. a good catch. but then again. most spear fishing I see is selective harvesting. I pass on most species. and even some lobster divers will throw back a monster females. and some dive boats incurrage this for the reasons you have stated. while hook and line fishing, there are several casualties. with limits placed on different species. you cant always keep what you catch. and death is most often the result due to there air bladders expanding. far more fish are killed of using this method. while its true that most competitions are well organized and the divers have there hot holes. and to watch the weigh ins is quite the seen. its is a good thing that the competitions are not in the same place time and time again. and I do agree we need better management of our fisheries. like 10 fish limit for hook and line. no mater what species you catch. there would be a lot less fish killed. fishing and gathering from the water goes back to biblical times and even farther. we should be better stewarts of our waters. like composting toilets and wean everybody off the idea that we all have to have green lawns outside our houses that require vast amounts of water and chems. maybe we would then have enough water for the salmon to spawn up the klamath and elsewhere. we would definatley have cleaner waters. and community gardens would be a good start as well.. for so many reasons.. the community would be stronger and less trucks on the roads. less cems..I definitely think there are bigger fish to fry then the spear fishing community. hook and line fisherman often keep species that should have been thrown back. from lack of knowledge. they don't know the difference between a vermillion and a yellow eye..ect..
as far as chemicals. yes digital is less polluting and its a better way to go but the chems are still there. its just at the factories. as with all chems. fertilizers causing toxic algae blooms. runoff from cattle farms and poultry.. ect..ect.. waist from building.. asbestos from break pads,toxic paints for boats, surf board and boat materials, plastics, and the list goes on and on and on. look at Mexico's sewage. not even treated and just dumped. its all overwhelming... what's a guy to do... fish count .. reef.. ect..
