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Terry Maas is a veteran freediver. He started diving when he
was 14 years old and has been freediving steadily for the last 47 years. In his early
years Terry won the individual U.S. National Spearfishing championships 4 times. His team
won 10 championships. In 1982, his interests turned to blue water hunting. For the next 10
years he captured 3 world records for yellowfin and bluefin tuna ( http://freedive.net/ibsrc/fish_frms/f_bft_pa.htm
). His 398-lb Pacific bluefin tuna record still stands. In 1995, Terry published his first
book, BlueWater Hunting and Freediving. This book is
richly illustrated with pictures and stories from Mexico. Several years later he published
his second book on the subject of freediving Freedive. Terry studied marine biology in his undergraduate work at the
University of California. He holds 3 advanced degrees, Doctor of Dental Science from
University of the Pacific, Resident in Oral Surgery from the University of Southern
California and Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. His 1992 video, Bluewater
Hunters for PBS has been viewed by over 25 million people and has helped introduce
the sport of bluewater spearfishing to the world. His
diving has been featured in such publications as Sports Illustrated, American Airlines
magazine, The Miami Herald and the Los Angeles Times. He lectures nationally using his
slides and video presentations to educate those interested in the adventure of bluewater
hunting and marine resource conservation. Terry is the director of the International Blue
Water Spearfishing Records Committee an organization that documents and maintains world
records for blue water species taken freediving. Maas is an accomplished videographer. His rare footage of
wild yellowfin tuna taken at Socorro Island is displayed in two sections of the Monterey
Bay Aquarium open water exhibit. He has produced two commercial videos, The Joy of Freediving and Freediving
Made Easy. Terry loves to document the underwater world on still film
and in magazine articles. His recent article documenting the
natural history of manta rays was the featured as the front-cover exhibit in Mexico
Desconocido (July 2002). His articles and photographs have been featured in such US
magazines as Sport Diver, Skin Diver, Scuba Times, Western Diver and California
Diving News. Internationally, his articles
appear in Sterne (Germany), Focus (Italy), Dive New Zealand and Australian
Freediving and Spearfishing News. In 2000, he was inducted as a fellow into the
Explorers’ Club of New York. Terry is the principal under water videographer for the new TV series SPEARGUN HUNTER on the Outdoor Channel. Terry’s most recent documentation project is a
recreation of the marine environment off the Channel Islands of California. He was
commissioned by the National Parks Service to create a mural
demonstrating biodiversity at the islands. Using his painting
of white seabass in a kelp forest, Terry incorporated many other photographs of reef
and pelagic animals frequenting the islands. While Terry remains an avid hunter, he is very selective in
his take and is deeply concerned with conservation of the ocean’s bounty. He shares
his underwater images of sea creatures captured in commercial poaching nets and on hooks
with many environmental organizations. He is an active supporter of Sea Watch an
organization dedicated to the preservation of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. In Terry is an expert witness for speargun and blackout related injuries. Maas is currently working with a broad coalition of national and international freedivers to develop a safety vest for the management of freediver blackout. This device is analogous to a biker’s helmet, a skydiver’s back-up safety chute, and the car driver’s airbag.
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