Speargun?

[Scraps]

Speargunning on scuba, it's just not cricket

I often hear this objection, but I've never read a coherent explanation of the ethics behind it.

Cricket is a sport played by opposing teams who agree to follow rules that define a common objective and give teams probabilities of winning that are approximately proportional to their relative levels of skill, experience, organization, effort, and motivation.

Fishing is an entirely different sort of activity. Fish and people define winning differently. Fish do not recognize any rules. Even when I am equipped with scuba gear, fish are vastly more skilled at swimming and hiding than I ever will be at diving or searching for them. Even when I "win" at spearfishing by my standard of bringing home a suitable harvest, nearly every fish in my vicinity also "wins" by its standard of not getting shot.

There is no reason to attempt make spearfishing a "fair" or "sporting" inter-species encounter. Where I live, fisheries conservation is generally managed by regulating the size of the harvest, not by making the harvest more difficult or dangerous.

When I spearfish, I am not engaging in a sporting event. I am procuring meat for the family table. I shoot legal quantities of legal species of legal size in the authorized seasons.

Why should I feel any obligation to make procuring meat more difficult just to satisfy someone else's vague aesthetic impulses? Why should I unilaterally surrender the means that allow me to take large fish that reside below the depths at which I could free dive? Why should I be shamed into taking the additional safety risks of free diving in order to harvest legal fish?

Please explain your basis for deciding that free diving is acceptable but scuba gear is not. Why does scuba gear tip the scales too much, and why do masks and fins not? By what standard should one decide how many bands of what thickness are sporting for shooting a particular sized fish from a particular distance? Does every innovation in tactics and equipment need to be evaluated to see if it upsets the competitive balance? Ultimately, your standards are arbitrary and idiosyncratic. You're free to honor them, but no one else needs to unless they fish in locales where the laws require it.

Please persuade me that your "just not cricket" comment is anything other than an inapt metaphor in the guise of a rational argument.

 

[Chris Stock]

What was your 2nd gun?

Remington 20 gauge single. Still have it.

 

[Chris Stock]

Speargunning on scuba that, doesn't sound like cricket to me!

I'm not following?

 

[Wookie]

I often hear this objection, but I've never read a coherent explanation of the ethics behind it.

Cricket is a sport played by opposing teams who agree to follow rules that define a common objective and give teams probabilities of winning that are approximately proportional to their relative levels of skill, experience, organization, effort, and motivation.

Fishing is an entirely different sort of activity. Fish and people define winning differently. Fish do not recognize any rules. Even when I am equipped with scuba gear, fish are vastly more skilled at swimming and hiding than I ever will be at diving or searching for them. Even when I "win" at spearfishing by my standard of bringing home a suitable harvest, nearly every fish in my vicinity also "wins" by its standard of not getting shot.

There is no reason to attempt make spearfishing a "fair" or "sporting" inter-species encounter. Where I live, fisheries conservation is generally managed by regulating the size of the harvest, not by making the harvest more difficult or dangerous.

When I spearfish, I am not engaging in a sporting event. I am procuring meat for the family table. I shoot legal quantities of legal species of legal size in the authorized seasons.

Why should I feel any obligation to make procuring meat more difficult just to satisfy someone else's vague aesthetic impulses? Why should I unilaterally surrender the means that allow me to take large fish that reside below the depths at which I could free dive? Why should I be shamed into taking the additional safety risks of free diving in order to harvest legal fish?

Please explain your basis for deciding that free diving is acceptable but scuba gear is not. Why does scuba gear tip the scales too much, and why do masks and fins not? By what standard should one decide how many bands of what thickness are sporting for shooting a particular sized fish from a particular distance? Does every innovation in tactics and equipment need to be evaluated to see if it upsets the competitive balance? Ultimately, your standards are arbitrary and idiosyncratic. You're free to honor them, but no one else needs to unless they fish in locales where the laws require it.

Please persuade me that your "just not cricket" comment is anything other than an inapt metaphor in the guise of a rational argument.

Meh. Different cultures, different standards. Some fools wrestle crocs, others gators. some can't keep their opinions to themselves. Don't get offended by some other punters opinion.

 

[Bob DBF]

Speargunning on scuba that, doesn't sound like cricket to me!

Of course not, we don't use a bat whilst spearfishing.

 

[Belzelbub]

Fish do not recognize any rules.

I agree with just about everything you wrote except this. Fish apparently do recognize some rules. Primarily the open and closed seasons for their species. When open, they hide and often stay out of range/sight. When closed, they come right up to you and taunt you.

 

[100days-a-year]

I agree with just about everything you wrote except this. Fish apparently do recognize some rules. Primarily the open and closed seasons for their species. When open, they hide and often stay out of range/site. When closed, they come right up to you and taunt you.

I have dove a very remote reef regularly once or twice a year for quite a while. Season closed early December. Instead of 4 to 5 skittish grouper, there were 30 in my face as I tried to find lions, scamp and hogs. I know it was the front end of the migration but I was amazed at how they seemed so nonchalant about a hunting spearo.

 

[Eric802]

Speargunning on scuba that, doesn't sound like cricket to me!

Fish have had just as long as humans to develop technology to allow them to hunt us. It's perfectly fair.

 

[Scraps]

I agree with just about everything you wrote except this. Fish apparently do recognize some rules. Primarily the open and closed seasons for their species. When open, they hide and often stay out of range/sight. When closed, they come right up to you and taunt you.

You are correct.

And the ones we're not allowed to spear at all seem to know it, too. I've had snook come up and sniff the whole length of my spear gun.

Deer along the Appalachian Trail have the same arrogant sense of security.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Antony:

Very sorry about our lack of response. If it is not too inconvenient, please pm me your phone number and I will have someone call you back right away. We may not be able to get a full resolution/answer until our staff is back in the office and online- Monday , but I do want to make sure your concerns are addressed immediately.

Thanks
dano

Antony:

Just want to say thanks for your continued support of MAKO Spearguns.

It is my understanding that there was some issue with attachment of photo(s) in an Email exchange last week.

Based on my conversation with Josh (our facilities manager) it appears that you two had a very productive conversation on the phone today and any issues were resolved to your satisfaction. If that is not the case (now or in the future), please feel free to contact me.

Thanks very much for reaching out to me on this matter.

Thanks
dano