I am curious to hear if any of those against spearfishing ever eat fish? If they eat commercially caught fish, they don’t have a leg to stand on when being against spearfishing. I find it the ultimate exercise in hypocrisy to criticize people that selectively hunt fish to consume when the same person doing the criticizing is happily eating fish that results in upwards of 80 percent of the fish caught being wasted and thrown back as bycatch. If you eat fish you cannot be against spearfishing. Just because the local fish guy sells it to you does not make it better than hunting it yourself. In fact, I would say the world would be better off if everyone that hates spearfishing actually learned to do it to secure the fish they will eat and never buy commercially caught fish again.
Almost all spearfishing people I know are not ego driven trophy-questing mad hunters. Most hunt to eat what they catch and are very selective about it. I find it very comforting to know exactly where my fish comes from. The ignorant and uneducated that try to hunt with no training are the ones that are harmful and most of those quickly learn as they strive to be better. Even the worst spearfishing person will do way less damage than one single day in the life of a commercial fishing boat. The point of the original article is that spearfishing and hunting training has a hard time being offered because of this ignorant backlash in the community. If divers or freedivers are going to hunt, it is the industry’s duty to offer good training in how to conduct these activities. People are entitled to their opinions. But if you are against spearfishing, I suggest you never eat fish again unless you secure it yourself. You will be helping your cause way more than if you eat fish.
Grant Graves
Santa Monica, CA
