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i am very surprised that...
- Thread starterporsc
- Start date
Thread Status: Hello
, There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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I think it has something to do with the fact that a whole lot of us are actually spearfishers rofl but jokes aside, I think that you will find that the attitude you describe is one that comes from ignorance of the sport or whatever it is you want to call it. Its an attidude I think most of us have come across at some time or another, so no your not in the twilight zone 
porsc said:
Just about every diver I know that hates spearfishermen eats seafood harvested by longliners, seiners and driftnets, which kills millons of tons of fish that are thrown back as they are not wanted or not legal to keep, and the fish that are kept die slow, painful deaths.
They also drive big SUV's, live in non-energy-efficient homes, have never been on a farm, get all their food wrapped in plastic that was killed by someone else and shipped to the city they live in by fuel-burning trucks over 1000 miles away.
'Nuff said?
Peace,
Erik Y.
Porsc, so you say: "why is everybody so friendly to spearfishers here? All those i've met are complete idiots". Believe me, i feel a good karma about you, i'm sure you didn't mean to offend us. But please, read Erik's post once again and loose the prejudice. Spearfishing is the most selective, sustainable, loyal way of fishing.
Maybe the "irresponsible" spearos you've met make mass killings of endangered species just for the fun of killing them. I condemn that, but they are to blame individually. Me I'm an ethic spearfisher.
But what do you exactly mean for "irresponsible"?
Maybe the "irresponsible" spearos you've met make mass killings of endangered species just for the fun of killing them. I condemn that, but they are to blame individually. Me I'm an ethic spearfisher.
But what do you exactly mean for "irresponsible"?
Hi porsc,
Sorry you met some irresponsible spearo's. There are some out there and they sure don't help the rest of us. Please don't think they are the majority. Stick around and get educated.
When you look at harvesting fish from the perspective of what is least damaging to the resourse, spearfishing looks pretty good. It can be very selective by size and species. There is little, if any collateral damage to the environment. In most situations, it is pretty hard for divers, scuba or free to kill enough fish to do much damage. It is certainly true that in some situations ( some territorial reef preditors in clear waters less than 100 ft, for example) spearos can overharvest, but any other gear I can think of will result in more overharvest, much, much quicker. Whats not to like?
In my opinion, most of the animus against spearos is pure politics sparked by people's tendency to believe that the "other guy" is the problem, combined with a memory of overfishing caused by all gears and fishermen together. Spearos did their share, but the real problem is allowing too many fish to be taken. It ain't how you catch'em, its how many you catch.
Connor
Sorry you met some irresponsible spearo's. There are some out there and they sure don't help the rest of us. Please don't think they are the majority. Stick around and get educated.
When you look at harvesting fish from the perspective of what is least damaging to the resourse, spearfishing looks pretty good. It can be very selective by size and species. There is little, if any collateral damage to the environment. In most situations, it is pretty hard for divers, scuba or free to kill enough fish to do much damage. It is certainly true that in some situations ( some territorial reef preditors in clear waters less than 100 ft, for example) spearos can overharvest, but any other gear I can think of will result in more overharvest, much, much quicker. Whats not to like?
In my opinion, most of the animus against spearos is pure politics sparked by people's tendency to believe that the "other guy" is the problem, combined with a memory of overfishing caused by all gears and fishermen together. Spearos did their share, but the real problem is allowing too many fish to be taken. It ain't how you catch'em, its how many you catch.
Connor
ok, first of all, just as you asked me to read eriks post carefully, i ask you to go back and read my post(s) carefully. i didn't attack spearfishing, i certainly didn't boast support for longline fishing and i never called spearfishermen "idiots"! (spaghetti). i also never said that i didn't like spearfishermen. i said that most divers i know hate spearfishermen. i never said that i have anything against them in general. i did say that i have a problem with the guys that i have personally met, who were very irresponsible about it. for instance ignoring that they were in protected waters, just because they knew that the authorities in the area were weak to enforce the law; others would fish dangerously close to other divers, who were just trying to enjoy a dive, not worry about being speared. i've also seen them spear illegal fish, and perform several other acts of irresponsible fishing. and by the way, just because a person is against one thing, doesn't mean they are for another one, so that shouldn't be assumed.
i don't put a blanket statement on an entire group of people. i direct my statements for or against, directly at the individuals, as i did here when i said that i was talking about spearos i had personally been around, not all of you. i am not a tree hugger. i am just a diving enthusiast. read my statements carefully, and please don't assume, we all know what happens when you do that. lol.
finally, i didn't post initially to offend anyone. i am not into the whole "us versus them" thing.(spearos vs scuba - scuba vs dir - environmentalist vs nonenvironmentalist - republican vs democrat) i feel all of it is silly. i just love to live my life as free as possible. i was just posting a statement of being truly surprised, because i had never experienced this acceptance.
i don't put a blanket statement on an entire group of people. i direct my statements for or against, directly at the individuals, as i did here when i said that i was talking about spearos i had personally been around, not all of you. i am not a tree hugger. i am just a diving enthusiast. read my statements carefully, and please don't assume, we all know what happens when you do that. lol.
finally, i didn't post initially to offend anyone. i am not into the whole "us versus them" thing.(spearos vs scuba - scuba vs dir - environmentalist vs nonenvironmentalist - republican vs democrat) i feel all of it is silly. i just love to live my life as free as possible. i was just posting a statement of being truly surprised, because i had never experienced this acceptance.
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So what's diving like in Taiwan Porsc? i heard that it is not so brilliant due to the fishing activities (chemicals etc) - do you have any photos or trip reports?
well for most people it isn't much to speak of. but for the people in the know, there are actually some world class spots. one place in particular is as good as any place in the world that i have gone diving. it is called Seven Sisters or Seven Stars, depending on who you talk to. it is a couple of hours due south of kenting, the southern most part of taiwan. then you have green island and orchid island. right now, it is the perfect time of the year to dive with hundreds of hammerheads. both of these islands have world class diving year around. kenting is taiwans beach resort, and there is some decent diving down there. one place called the flower garden has leather corals the size of volkswagons. snorkling around nixions rock is also very nice because of the beautiful wrasses and trumpet fishes in this area. other than Seven Stars, green island, orchid island and kenting, the diving sucks. but if you can get to those places, you can do some really nice diving.
Hi Porsc, I am neither an accomplished free dive or a particularily good spearfisherman. Our waters here in New Zealand are probably relatively pristine compared to the rest of the world.
Our older generation (1960-1970s) readly ackknowledge they plundered the sea, conversely they had no idea the resource could run out.
I spearfish most weekends, this can entail swimming for upto 7 hours in a day. No reef fish are speared and only pelagic species are targeted.
I am the secretary of a local club and can assure you that our impact is significantly less then the recreational bag limits imposed for line fishing.
The way I see it is we have perhaps 2 minutes to freedive to the appropriate depth, hunt and despatch the fish ( which has all of the ecoligical advantages) and return to the surface alive.
I can only speak for my observations here in New Zealand, but the approach by the spearfishing community is much more sustainable then that then the recreational fishing community.
Our older generation (1960-1970s) readly ackknowledge they plundered the sea, conversely they had no idea the resource could run out.
I spearfish most weekends, this can entail swimming for upto 7 hours in a day. No reef fish are speared and only pelagic species are targeted.
I am the secretary of a local club and can assure you that our impact is significantly less then the recreational bag limits imposed for line fishing.
The way I see it is we have perhaps 2 minutes to freedive to the appropriate depth, hunt and despatch the fish ( which has all of the ecoligical advantages) and return to the surface alive.
I can only speak for my observations here in New Zealand, but the approach by the spearfishing community is much more sustainable then that then the recreational fishing community.