Spearfishing with a rebreather

[Rhone Man]

Haven't read through the whole thread (and I am not a rebreather diver), but the two words which march immediately to my mind reading the OP are:

"Task Loading"​

But if you are good enough, and it is not against the law in Sevastopol (is that still part of Russia?), go for it.

Sporting or not sporting? Depends whether you are hunting for fun or hunting for food (and I am guessing the owner of a rebreather has other ways to feed the family). But if you are doing it to put food on the table, I don't buy too much into the "must be sporting" mentality. That doesn't mean I advocate bleach fishing or taking pregnant female lobsters - you need to respect the environment. But if the net result either way is a dead fish/lobster you can eat, I am not sure how much difference it makes in the global scheme of things that you artificially reduced your chances to make it more "sporting" for your quarry.

 

[Hank49]

You go, rigdiver! Try not to flood your loop when some large fish you've plugged takes you on a Nantucket sleigh ride.......oh, yeah, if he takes you vertical it'll be fun to watch you manage your ppO2 - while you're tied to the fish......

Please do your CCR spearfishing quietly so if you become a statistic no one will ever know. CCR's don't need the negative PR.

Biminibill

going vertical on scuba from any depth would also be dangerous. Breakaways and floatlines, reels and freeshafting make it safer on scuba.

 

[Hank49]

oops...

 

[DepthCharge]

It's not for everyone. Careful and detailed rebreather maintenance before and after each diving day at a high level is a requirement that doesn't apply to open circuit.

Yes, I do own a rebreather.

Biminibill

Just curious, what type of daily maintenance are you referring to? I change o-rings and rebuild regs once a year or if there is a problem. Daily stuff is drying out head/sensors, checking the flapper valves before assembling the unit for the days dive, making sure enough scrubber time is available. +/- pressure checks. Depending on the batteries I'm using change them daily. Disinfect the loop every other day if I'm diving several days in a row. I don't feel this is much more than OC. My unit is squared away and ready to go before alot of OC divers are ready to jump in.

 

[Biminibill]

Hank49,

I use both types of gear and have been a commercial diver for over thirty years. There are considerable differences between the OC and CCR that change the danger level considerably. Equating one to the other is rarely supportable.

 

[Biminibill]

There are other considerations than your bag limit, for example, there is usually a small subset of a standing targeted fish population that is either genetically prone to be skittish or learns very quickly to run away. I stress the term "small subset". In the case of a popular spearfishing wreck and resident black grouper, most are eliminated and you can dive the wreck on OC and either see a few of the remaining strays bolting away at high speed or not see them at all. Dive that same site with a CCR and the few that remain will often reveal themselves. Now add a speargun to the mix and you quite literally wipe the wreck clean, even if you stay within the bag limits. I see this as the same reason you can't hunt deer at night, even if you stay within the bag limit. Is cleaning off a wreck or a reef by use of enhanced gear supportable? I think not.

 

[Biminibill]

DepthCharge,

You can be commended for taking proper care of your gear and as well that it's not a big deal for you, but having watched a lot of divers over a career of commercial diving I can say without hesitation that your attitude and professionalism represents an alarmingly small percentage of the dive population. The rest will say, "Oh, great, I can shoot the hell out of fish with a CCR ", they buy one, get careless on their maintenance and then get dead, either from a failure or taking their eye off the ball when chasing a fish and not taking care of business. All this brings the whole notion of CCRs closer to government scrutiny as well as takes lives. No one wants to see the Feds. Remember, the general public screws up everything it touches since as a whole it is not YOU, the exception to the rule.

 

[Hank49]

Hank49,

I use both types of gear and have been a commercial diver for over thirty years. There are considerable differences between the OC and CCR that change the danger level considerably. Equating one to the other is rarely supportable.

Except in this case. Rapid accent, being pulled by a large fish on a "nantucket sleigh ride" is extremely dangerous on any type of scuba unit. My point was that there is gear in spearfishing to reduce those dangers....and also aid you in landing large fish. I'm not questioning your dive gear experience.

 

[Hetland]

Except in this case. Rapid accent, being pulled by a large fish on a "nantucket sleigh ride" is extremely dangerous on any type of scuba unit. My point was that there is gear in spearfishing to reduce those dangers....and also aid you in landing large fish. I'm not questioning your dive gear experience.

The difference being that when a fish pulls you, you are generally AWARE that the fish is pulling you. My understanding of rebreathers is that they can kill you simply because you respiration rate changes. You can let go of a gun, or cut a line, but in the heat of battle it's easier to misjudge the significance of how much you are breathing, and once you go to sleep, it's too late to take corrective action.

If my limited understanding of rebreathers is wrong, I assume several people will correct me

 

[Cave Diver]

The difference being that when a fish pulls you, you are generally AWARE that the fish is pulling you. My understanding of rebreathers is that they can kill you simply because you respiration rate changes. You can let go of a gun, or cut a line, but in the heat of battle it's easier to misjudge the significance of how much you are breathing, and once you go to sleep, it's too late to take corrective action.

If my limited understanding of rebreathers is wrong, I assume several people will correct me

You're making a reference to dwell time. It's preferable to use slow controlled breaths. The slower that your exhaled gas goes through the scrubber, the more effectively it can remove CO2. Rapid, shallow breathing increases the amount of CO2 in the loop and decreases the amount of time that it spends passing through the scrubber. This spike is where the trouble starts if it's not recognized and addressed pretty quickly.