baggysalls
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How come i see people spearfishing with scuba gear(rebreathers) allover youtube??
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How come i see people spearfishing with scuba gear(rebreathers) allover youtube??
How come i see people spearfishing with scuba gear(rebreathers) allover youtube??
The South Atlantic Fishery management Council banned the use of rebreathers for spearfishing in the South Atlantic EEZ many years ago. Rebreathers are illegal for any kind of consumptive harvest in Florida State waters and apply to ornamental harvest in Federal waters off Florida on both coasts under the "adjacent state waters rules apply" provision of the Magnuson- Stevens Act.
As for using rebreathers to spearfish or other harvest there are several reasons why this is a bad idea. First: Too much access to the resource both by the advantage of increased stealth and long duration will lead to overharvest issues both biologically and politically (divers vs. hook and liners). Second: Diving a rebreather requires steady attention to unit operation in order to be used safely even in the best of conditions. Spearfishing often increases task loading to the point that the diver will allow proper monitoring of the rebreather to be compromised. The "All's fair in love and war" statement is irrelevant and ignores reality. Fighting a big fish can lead to rapid depth changes, digging fish out of holes, etc, all things that require special attention to the rebreather that are not neaded for open circuit diving. Pre-occupation with what you're doing can lead to catastrophic events. Two deaths occurred on rebreathers off Broward County several years ago. The first was a guy collecting tropical fish illegally and the other was someone spearfishing illegally. While no one solved the mystery of what happened to the fish collector there is no doubt that the spearfisherman was the victim of too much task loading.
It takes a disciplined mindset to properly use a rebreather. 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. There's an ocean of difference between strapping on a bottle on open circuit and donning a rebreather. There are many divers who, used to the ease of open circuit diving, will rush maintenance of the their rebreather unit or skip it altogether
If rebreathers are allowed for spearfishing and more people get into using them there will be more deaths which will end up bringing in unwanted government restrictions on ther use. If people use the stealth capability to pound the hell out of fish, particularly on popular dive and fishing sites the units will get a further black eye leading to still more government intervention.
Finally, if people spearfish for sport then consider that using a rebreather and parking your bubbleless tail in a cranny to wait for fish to dumbly swim up so you can pop them can hardly be considered sport. If your goal is simply to boat as many fish as you can as easily as you can then become a commercial fisherman. If hunting for the sport of it is your goal then hewn your skills to make yourself successful with open circuit. Leave the rebreather on the shelf.
Yes, I do own a rebreather.
Biminibill
rebreather diving while spearfishing/underwater hunting is legal, and common in NJ. There is no significant difference between the size and amount of fish these guys get on any given dive and what I get on OC (deco diving). we all follow the same bag limits. We all follow the same laws - and mostly, their bottom time is not that much more than mine.
That being said, any of us - OC or CC - could limit out on ANY dive. The difference that is not being taken into consideration is the overwhelmingly common standard amongst spearfishermen "only kill what I eat, always eat what I kill".
It is absurd to suggest that a rebreather can have any significant impact on fish populations considering commercial gear wipes out entire schools, entire reefs, and entire boatloads at a time. The impact of recreation, law abiding, fisherman - whether it is rod/reel, spear - or any other means......is so miniscule in the grand scheme of things - that to waste time creating, lobbying for, and enforcing these laws is nothing other than misguided, mislead, and uninformed.