[spaghetti]

Two suggestions:
1) Internationalize the mobilization of spearos. Post this issue on spanish, portuguese and french forums such as "larompiente", "apnea.fr" et cetera (Spaniard can help with spanish language, while our DB forum user M. Cerieiro can help with portuguese, Sarnian speaks good french). Anyway the text of the Commission's proposal is available in all tghe languages of the EU (I've already found it in italian).
The BSA shuold try to get in contact with spanish and portuguese spearfishing federation urgently.
2) challenge DEFRA on the terrain of "scientific avidence". In Italy, our FIPSAS (kind of italian equivalent of the BSA) is now cooperating with the Ministry of environment (i.e. the italian government) to make the first serious study on spearfishing impact.
In short, this is what happened. For years, the public authority has been making the regulations stricter and stricter, claiming a "scientific evidence" asgainst spearfishing. But that scientific evidence does not really exist.
And so the Fipsas told the government: "ok, since research does not exist, let's make it together". Three months ago they (Fipsas and Gov.t) signed a protocol, and now Italy's organized spearos and government are cooperating in making together the first ever serious study on spearfishing impact on fish stocks. I don't know much about the protocols of the research (how it's made in practice) but I can try to gather some infos for you.
If you convince Defra to do such a thing in cooperation with the BSA, you can also convince them to "freeze" any change in regulations until the outcomes of the study are completed. How does it sound?