In Reply to: Re: What the hell does poaching have to do with legal fishing/diving? posted by finfan on September 20, 2005 at 10:45:26:

"Holly'r?" Is it Christmas time already?

Finfan, agree that we non-hunters need to acknowledge the difference between spearfishing and poaching at times. There are many good spearos underwater... some are my occasional buddies. There are also some pretty bad ones, just like in any other activity. To give a blanket condemnation of all speros would be inappropriate (and you can see from her post that Elaine has not done that).

However, even legal spearos need to consider a few issues beyond the simply legal ones. I'm thinking of the spearos in the 50's and 60's who hunted the black sea bass to near extinction. They were taking the fish legally, but it must have become obvious to them over time that the population was in significant decline. That is where a responsible, proactive stance should be taken by spearos (and others). The man who finally certified me in 1969 after I'd been diving for 8 years at one time held the record for take of a black sea bass with spear.

Unfortunately fisheries management is often an antiquated activity and reactive rather than proactive in defining what is legal and what isn't.