[I have done this little research and i jumped to this conclusion: what do you think?
Today using a mimetic water suit is quite common and some experts have developed many theories about the dimensions of the colour stains in relation to the whole spear fisher silhouette while others have focused their attention on the kind and amount of colours to be used but the matter is still not clear.
Several marine life forms do use camouflage but it fully works only when they are still and when they move we can see them. The theory of image splitting is based on the concept that fishes are short-sighted so they cannot see properly the contours of silhouettes but its truthfulness is questionable because if you lye perfectly still wearing a black water suit there is no difference between you and a shadow zone to fishes’ short-sighted eyes as far as you do not emit any vibration.
When you move instead, your vibrations are detected by the fish sooner than your colours than it is already aware you are there.
During a dive the light is behind our shoulders so camouflage is useless because we turn into an approaching dark silhouette to the fish and if we use the crawling technique vibrations emitted by our moving should be the most important aspect to focus on rather than camouflage, so what is the use of camouflage in spear fishing?
Some think that by splitting the spear fisher’s silhouette, camouflage give to fishes the impression to find itself in front of many other smaller fishes but what is the aim of this if the vibrations emitted are perceived by our fish as belonging to a bigger one?
If we list by priority how the fishes use their sensorial organs in hunting, for sure eyes is not the most important ones but the lateral sensorial apparatus would be. Several studies have demonstrated that small fishes do gather and move simultaneously to give their predators the illusion to be facing with a unique larger fish. This is possible because, by swimming close to each other, first of all they create a whole larger silhouette that the short-sighted eye of predators perceive as a unique dark stain and then they amplify the strength of their vibrations.
The conclusion is that camouflage, included the fins’ one or the one of any other piece of equipment, is a quite relative aspect as we all should not forget that the first sensorial apparatus to mislead is not the sight, for this reason what is the use of not properly perceiving the shape of a fin or a spear fisher that is actually moving and so emitting vibrations?
This article is not aimed to discourage the use of mimetic equipment but to provide a new idea about its importance in getting a successful catch. If you are able to move through the water with reduced vibration emission (and then you are already a good spear fisher) the camouflage can give you a better chance to succeed in catching your prey, but this might be true only in a limited number of situations like when you use the crawling technique in shallow waters. This concept is supported by the fact that when we fall toward the bottom our colours are not perceived by the fish because the light is behind our back then we are in shadow and when we lye on the bottom camouflage should be not relevant because our body should be well secluded behind rocks unless we have no chance to do so.
Further, if you consider that at greater depth the perception of colours is different and in low-visibility environments, fishes do entrust more the signals perceived by the lateral apparatus since the sight is compromised, you can understand how camouflage importance is restricted to to only a few spear fishing situations.
Today using a mimetic water suit is quite common and some experts have developed many theories about the dimensions of the colour stains in relation to the whole spear fisher silhouette while others have focused their attention on the kind and amount of colours to be used but the matter is still not clear.
Several marine life forms do use camouflage but it fully works only when they are still and when they move we can see them. The theory of image splitting is based on the concept that fishes are short-sighted so they cannot see properly the contours of silhouettes but its truthfulness is questionable because if you lye perfectly still wearing a black water suit there is no difference between you and a shadow zone to fishes’ short-sighted eyes as far as you do not emit any vibration.
When you move instead, your vibrations are detected by the fish sooner than your colours than it is already aware you are there.
During a dive the light is behind our shoulders so camouflage is useless because we turn into an approaching dark silhouette to the fish and if we use the crawling technique vibrations emitted by our moving should be the most important aspect to focus on rather than camouflage, so what is the use of camouflage in spear fishing?
Some think that by splitting the spear fisher’s silhouette, camouflage give to fishes the impression to find itself in front of many other smaller fishes but what is the aim of this if the vibrations emitted are perceived by our fish as belonging to a bigger one?
If we list by priority how the fishes use their sensorial organs in hunting, for sure eyes is not the most important ones but the lateral sensorial apparatus would be. Several studies have demonstrated that small fishes do gather and move simultaneously to give their predators the illusion to be facing with a unique larger fish. This is possible because, by swimming close to each other, first of all they create a whole larger silhouette that the short-sighted eye of predators perceive as a unique dark stain and then they amplify the strength of their vibrations.
The conclusion is that camouflage, included the fins’ one or the one of any other piece of equipment, is a quite relative aspect as we all should not forget that the first sensorial apparatus to mislead is not the sight, for this reason what is the use of not properly perceiving the shape of a fin or a spear fisher that is actually moving and so emitting vibrations?
This article is not aimed to discourage the use of mimetic equipment but to provide a new idea about its importance in getting a successful catch. If you are able to move through the water with reduced vibration emission (and then you are already a good spear fisher) the camouflage can give you a better chance to succeed in catching your prey, but this might be true only in a limited number of situations like when you use the crawling technique in shallow waters. This concept is supported by the fact that when we fall toward the bottom our colours are not perceived by the fish because the light is behind our back then we are in shadow and when we lye on the bottom camouflage should be not relevant because our body should be well secluded behind rocks unless we have no chance to do so.
Further, if you consider that at greater depth the perception of colours is different and in low-visibility environments, fishes do entrust more the signals perceived by the lateral apparatus since the sight is compromised, you can understand how camouflage importance is restricted to to only a few spear fishing situations.
Last edited by a moderator: