Freedive!
CHAPTER
EXCERPTS

History

Physiology-1

Physiology-2

Gear

Technique

Photography

U/W Hockey

Monofins

Game

Deep Diving

Glossary

Game gathering

From the beginning of time, man has hunted the oceans of the world for food. Imagine the legions of world-class divers preceding us-their prowess evident in archaeological digs of fish bones and shells.
The tradition continues today. Native freedivers in the Bahamas and the South Pacific teach their children the art of gathering game from the ocean. In the deep, cold waters of Japan, ama divers harvest oysters. In every ocean of the world, freediving sportsmen hunt the sea, preferring the thrill of the experience and the fresh taste of their game to the task of buying pre-packaged fish in the supermarket.
We believe that, in most instances, freediving is the most sportsmanlike and environmentally sound way to hunt-in many countries it's the only legal method. Many locales limit spearfishing to freediving. Freediving is the only method by which you may take abalone in Northern California and lobsters in South Africa.

In this chapter, we'll examine the basics for gathering abalone, lobster and fish. Before you use any of these techniques, be sure that you study local fish-and-game laws for regulations that apply to freediving: acceptable methods, seasons, sizes and eligible species............

Abalone

Because of their rich taste and relative scarcity worldwide, abalone have skyrocketed in price from a few dollars a pound in the 70s to over eighty dollars in 1997, when a moratorium was placed on the commercial take of these shellfish. While the abalone population in Southern California has suffered from over-fishing and withering-foot disease (a progressive wasting of the animal’s body), their populations are healthy and abundant in Northern California. Some of the nation’s best freedivers developed their skills while hunting abalone.............

If you like to fish or hunt and swim underwater, then spearfishing is for you. Both the diver who hunts for dinner and the purist who lays on the ocean bottom for long minutes waiting to see just one trophy-sized striper or white seabass agree that the challenge of locating and stalking fish in their own environment is intoxicating. Besides providing fresh fish for dinner, spearfishers experience an intense communion with the underwater world.

Living in the moment, spearfishers see and feel what casual observers miss—the ocean’s pulse, subtle changes in currents, apprehension of baitfish and a whole host of interactions among the sea’s creatures. Imagine swimming for hours with manta rays and whale sharks, coming bill-to-speargun with colorful sailfish and giant marlin, observing natural predator-and-prey relationships or experiencing the thrill of spearing and landing a record gamefish.

Even though the sport of spearfishing was largely responsible for the birth of freediving, it has become a controversial activity. Because of its high beach visibility, the excesses of a few and the ecology movement, spearfishers have come under attack by those who do not understand the sport. In many countries spearfishing is a tremendously popular sport, enjoyed by those who consider their top “spearos” to be national celebrities. This is due in part to cultural tradition and laws that make spearfishing with scuba gear illegal. In Southern Europe, freediving and spearfishing have evolved into a totally unique and separate sport supported by equipment <d>manufacturers, magazines dedicated to freediving and the general public.............

Spearfishing has the potential to be the most environmentally sound method of harvesting fish. While responsible anglers practice “catch and release,” spearfishers “release and catch”—they take only the fish they want while letting the others swim by. A spearfisher can easily discriminate species, size and sex. In the global scheme, spearfishers take relatively few fish. In California, for every 3,000 fish harvested from the sea, commercial fisherman take 2,800, anglers 200 and spearfishers less than one. Still, spearfishers can make a significant negative impact by the way they behave in such high-visibility areas as public beaches and boat ramps............

Today there is a new breed of spearfisher— young men and women with new diving technology and an old-school “purist” attitude. They shoot only what they need for dinner. To lessen their environmental impact, they study the life histories of teir quarry, avoid slow-growing species, increase their spearfishing areas to reduce localized negative impacts, target bluewater species rather than reef fish and constantly increase their level of skill and knowledge.............

Whether you hunt for fish, lobster or abalone, breath-hold diving certainly offers your quarry better odds than any other form of fishing. Just the thrill of the hunt and the companionship with other hunters is enough reward to compensate for those many days when you come home empty-handed. And when you’re lucky, you can look forward to ending the day with a king’s ransom—a meal of fresh seafood..............

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