[Coral-List] snorkelers and divers
Eugene Shinn
eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
Wed Sep 21 15:23:33 EDT 2016
The kind remarks about my look back at the past regarding snorkels and
scuba were greatly appreciated. One may wonder why many of us early
divers (in the 1950s) resisted snorkels so strongly. In those days
spearfishing was the main reason people got into the water. At the time
breath-holding spearfishing contests were popular and sponsored by the
AAU(Amateur Athletic Union}. They hosted spearfishing contests at both
State and National levels. Contests continued into the 1960s when
killing fish for sport began losing popularity. Underwater photography
had not yet caught on and few people in Florida, other than Jerry
Greenberg, could afford underwater cameras (he produced and sold Sea
Hawk housings for the Argus C3 35mm camera). Spearfishing remained king
and a young diver could make money selling speared fish to fish markets
and restaurants in the Miami area. And don’t forget lobster, which
brought more money than fish (as much as 25 cents/lb. while fish like
grouper and snapper garnered 15 to 20 cents/lb.
Two to three person teams in a 15 to 20 foot outboard boat generally did
most of the spearfishing back then. Communication was key to efficiency.
We divers could talk to each other when we surfaced for air. That was
when your ears were out of the water. Often someone using a snorkel
would be invited along but once they left the boat and their ears
submerged they were in another world and communication ceased. When they
swam off with their ears underwater we wasted a lot of time yelling to
get them back when it was time to pull the anchor. In a spearfishing
contest it was especially important for the team to communicate. As we
got older and smarter we eventually discovered how much energy was saved
using a snorkel. Ah the good ole days when reef fish were abundant.
Ironically we blamed the hook and line fishermen when fish began to
decline.We now know that fish in Florida had already begun to decline
before spearfishing became popular. For an amazing and interesting look
at Florida fishing in the 1930s and 40s read “Son of the Sea” by Gilbert
Voss (University Press of Florida). His posthumous book was published
earlier this year. And yes, I was a reviewer. Gene
--
No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158
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