There are more ways to use a knife than to get untangled from lines - what if the fish catches YOU?!!!
I knew a pro lobster fisherman (Harry Menger) in the Virgin Islands that had a painful encounter with a moray. Reaching into a hole with a snare to get a lobster, a large moray latched onto his hand, biting hard on the index and heart fingers - then it tensed itself up in the hole and there was no way Harry could get back to the surface without leaving his fingers behind.
By pure and absolute luck it was the first day he wore a knife! He had to cut off the head of the moray (can you imagine doing it all in one breath?) and once back on his boat had to open the jaws with a pair of pliers.
At that time he was considered about the fifth best freediver in the world - around 1968. That probably helped him keep his calm while patiently cutting off the head of the moray. Do any of you know if there are any freediving records available from those days and where to find them?
Adrian
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