Posted by Dimitrios on April 11, 2001 at 22:01:23:
In Reply to: It's Time To Be Responsible posted by Jim Hoffmann on April 11, 2001 at 08:53:41:
Commercial: 93.0%
Sportsmen 6.7%
Spearfisherman: less than 0.3%
Extrapolated from data in the California Department of Fish and Game study, Ocean Sportfishing Catch and Effort, Oregon to Point Arguello, 1965 contained in Fish Bulletin Number 130; from the Department's annual commercial landings bulletin; and from data received from the Marine Recreational Fisheries Survey (1984-1989)
A good discussion of spearfishing ethics and impact on marine fisheries can be found in Terry Maas' book, Bluewater Hunting and Freediving P93-99.
You can read the entire chapter for free here:
http://www.freedive.net/chapters/ethics1.html
Major points Terry Makes:
The freediver (& scuba diver) has a powerful advantage over the fisherman: the ability to accurately select his prey.
As they improve their skills, most divers establish more restrictive personal minimums of size and quantity.