[Coral-List] Thoughts on Spearfishing on Scuba

[Zahra Ennis]

Hi Janice,
I've made the report publicly available on figshare.com, a repository for
research outputs.

here is a direct link:
http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1021606

The complete report can be safely downloaded from there. Dr. Aiken, my then
supervisor at The UWI, Mona, currently has a peer reviewed paper based on
this research in press to be published by the Revista de Biologia Tropical,
but until then, this is the closest to publication I can get!

Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer.

Zahra


On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 10:53 AM, Janice Sessing - NOAA Federal <
janice.sessing at noaa.gov> wrote:

> Can you share a copy of that study?
>
> On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 5:27 PM, Zahra Ennis <zahraennis120 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hi Eric,
> >
> > In 2012, I completed a report on Commercial Spearfishing in Jamaica,
> > through the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and the University of
> the
> > West Indies. It was based on delivering questionnaires to spear-fishers
> > islandwide, looking into the impact spearfishing made on the fishing
> > industry as well as the logistics of it, such as which types of air
> supply
> > yielded the greatest catch. Among the types of gear studied were Hookah,
> > SCUBA, and none (free divers).
> >
> > This study showed that although the use of SCUBA gear was the least
> popular
> > method for these spear-fishers, it allowed them to spend the least amount
> > of time per day fishing, and catch an average of 15.5 kg daily, almost
> > double the daily catch of free divers (8.9 kg).
> >
> > The real problem was shown to be the use of the Hookah apparatus, which
> > allowed divers to catch more than four times the daily catch of SCUBA
> users
> > and eight times the daily catch of free divers.
> >
> > Of course, catching more fish is great for those trying to make an
> > immediate income from it, however, to an already overfished environment
> > such as the reefs of Jamaica, it is only an added stressor, resulting in
> a
> > continued decrease in biodiversity and reef fish populations and
> ultimately
> > a huge problem for sustaining the fishing industry.
> >
> > I'm not sure if you are reporting on recreational, commercial
> spearfishing
> > or both, but hopefully this info helps a little.
> >
> > Zahra Ennis
> > B.Sc, Marine Biology
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 11:55 AM, Nicole Crane <nicrane at cabrillo.edu>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Eric,
> >>
> >> I know many spearfisherpeople, both free divers and scuba divers, who
> >> are careful, knowledgeable, and skilled.  I also know some who are
> >> reckless and not careful, and who do not have a good knowledge base from
> >> which to draw from (at least not about the fish they are targeting).
> >> The most important thing for all hunters, I believe, is to understand
> >> the fish you hunt, the impact of the hunting activity, and how to
> >> minimize the impact in oceans that are under threat from multiple
> factors.
> >>
> >> Fact: there are many fish that come to the nearshore to lay eggs in
> >> nests.  For some of these fish, the nests are guarded by males (such as
> >> the temperate west coast cabezon and ling cod).
> >>
> >> Fact: These males will guard those nests, and are very easy to spear.
> >> This is in fact the worst time to spear them as you are essentially
> >> killing them and all the eggs in the nest they are guarding.  For
> >> Cabezon, this can represent the reproductive effort of several females
> >> (multiple females will lay in one nest).
> >>
> >> Fact: scuba divers have an edge over free divers here because they can
> >> just swim until they find the fish, and easily spear them.
> >>
> >> Free divers tend to give the fish more of a chance, since the free diver
> >> has to rely on more skill to hunt and then spear the fish.
> >>
> >>
> >> On 4/28/14, 7:42 AM, Eric Douglas wrote:
> >> > I write the Ask an Expert column for Scuba Diving magazine and I am
> >> looking to quote one or two people who are opposed to spearfishing on
> >> scuba. I would like to hear from anyone with a fact-based opinion.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Thank you.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Eric
> >> >
> >> >
> >>
> >> --
> >> Nicole L. Crane
> >> Cabrillo College
> >> Division of Natural and Applied Sciences
> >> 831-479-5094
> >> nicrane at cabrillo.edu
> >> www.cabrillo.edu/~ncrane
> >>
> >> Oceanic Society
> >> Senior Conservation Scientist
> >> www.oceanicsociety.org
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
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>
>
> --
> Janice Sessing
> NOAA Satellite and Information Service
> 301-713-9224 (v); 301-713-9234 (f)
> Janice.Sessing at noaa.gov
>
> "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea."  Isak
> Dinesen
>