Spear-fishing is one of the oldest techniques used to catch fish. The original method, which is still practiced today in tribal regions of the world, is to plunge a sharpened stick into knee deep water with the hope of spearing something worth eating. With the advancement of technology this has developed into many modern day forms, from the harpooning of great whales to the competitive sport of spear-fishing.

In Anguilla (as in many parts of the world) great whales are not harpooned, nor is spear-fishing a highly competitive sport, rather it takes the form of a recreational and/or livelihood based activity. It is a common sight to see somebody donning a mask and snorkel, spear-gun in hand, in order to replenish the barbeque at a family beach gathering. It is also common practice for fishermen to carry a spear-gun out to sea with them in order to bait their pots or shoot a nice looking Parrotfish to take home for dinner. As all of this is well within our laws, where is the controversy?

The controversy comes from considerations relating to the effects that spear-fishing can have on fish populations, how the environmental effects compare to other fishing methods in the region, and the manner in which the activity is practiced. For example in some parts of the world, where huge factory ships harvest enormous amount of fish and bottom trawlers ravage the seabed and it’s associated communities, spear-fishing is considered one of the most environmentally friendly fishing methods. Even when related to less damaging hook and line methods this bears relevance: Spear-fishing does not stand to leave behind discarded line that can tangle around and unnecessarily kill marine creatures and/or sea birds; nor does it leave behind lost lead weights, a ‘heavy metal’ that can poison those who may inadvertently swallow it. Furthermore, if practiced correctly, with only those fish that are to be consumed being those shot, and without the use of SCUBA equipment (many feel using such underwater breathing equipment gives us an unfair advantage that takes the ‘sport’ out of spear-fishing), it doesn’t stand to detrimentally effect fish populations. Also, spear-fishing is often only practiced by a small number of people, with licenses needed before being permitted to conduct the activity, and so the effects from it will be minimal anyway.

In other parts of the world these considerations do not apply in the same way. In a small island nation such as Anguilla no large scale fishing activities occur and so spear-fishing can only be compared to smaller scale operations. Spear-fishing can again be seen as potentially the least ecologically damaging of these small scale operations, although because Anguilla is only a small island with limited ocean resources different factors come into play. Much of Anguilla’s coastal areas and the majority of regions within its Marine Parks are shallow coral reef habitat. If following the accepted protocol among most spear-fishers throughout the world (even though it is not legislated in Anguilla), and the activity is conducted using only snorkeling equipment and not SCUBA gear, these shallow reef areas are still extremely easy to pillage. A small patch reef for example, if visited by a proficient spear-fisher, could have all the larger fish removed from it in as little as an hour. Considering this, together with the large number of people who own a spear-gun on our island, it leads to a pretty bleak conclusion for our shallow coastal coral reef regions. Some argue that spear-fishing is selective, where as pot or net fishing is indiscriminate, and so favor it over these methods. This indeed is true, however, these latter two methods only catch a finite number of fish, and if legislated properly with correct mesh size, will allow smaller individuals to escape. A spear-gun in contrast remains harder to regulate, as although the fisherman may only target larger individuals, it is still possible for him to shoot smaller ones if their aim is good enough. Also, by targeting larger individuals an almost infinite number of fish can be caught, limited only by time available and number of fish present. Furthermore spear-fishing is especially detrimental to those fish species that are unafraid or unused to humans who thus become extremely easy pickings. These factors, especially when combined with relatively small amounts of available habitat for fish, can lead to recruitment over-fishing, where most adults of reproductive size are being removed from the population, thus leading to reduced numbers of juveniles being produced to replenish stocks.

Also part of this controversy is fishing by-catch. As spear-fishing is selective, with only those individuals targeted being caught, many argue that it is a more environmentally friendly practice that other methods (i.e. pot fishing) that catch anything that happens to come their way. This is indeed a valid argument, however, certainly in the case of Anguilla, as most by-catch from pot fishing gets used as bait, and because spear-fishing is often used as a method to catch bait in-itself (therefore being potentially much less selective) this argument is seen as largely defunct.

For some, the selectivity of spear-fishing is in any case considered a bad thing as they would rather leave fishing down to fate, with the fish being the one who ‘chooses’ to enter the trap or take the bait on a hook.

Whatever the case this controversy is set to continue, with the ‘correct’ conclusion relating to spear-fishing likely to be dependant on specific local situations, and therefore vary from place to place. In the case of Anguilla, and in light of the recent surveys coordinated by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources in our Marine Parks, it does indeed seem that fish are on the whole smaller in those regions most likely to have high intensities of spear-fishing, and thus recruitment over-fishing likely, if not now, then in the near future. It is not being suggested that spear-fishing is the only potential cause, or that it should be banned in Anguilla (as it has been in other small island communities), more that proper regulation be encouraged. At present the regulations that exist state only Anguillian residents may own/use a spear-gun, and that it is illegal to use a spear-gun to catch lobsters/crayfish (as if they have eggs they will not be able to be released as is legally required). With the introduction of further protective measures, for example area(s) closed to spear-fishing that will act as breeding grounds to repopulate other regions, this situation could hopefully be improved.

What is clear, and as a general overall conclusion, spear-fishing can be said to be highly selective with an extremely low amount of by-catch, therefore with education and proper regulations it can potentially be the most ecologically sustainable form of fishing.

For more information on this or other marine related issues please contact the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources at the top of Crocus Hill on 497-2871.

- Press Release

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