Blacky wrote:
Scuba survey, all of 1hr. Two hrs with a second tank. Limited ground covered because of cumbersome gear. Limited time in the water. Limited time in shallow water where BG often lurk.
Vs
Spearfishing. 4-6hrs in the water in session. Massively more ground covered actively searching for fish. More dive sites visited in more remote locations.
Fisheries didn't even know which BG species existed in vic and where until a spearo (also a biologist) smacked one which now sits in Melbourne museum several years back.
This ban is fucking bullshit.
If you want to sprook off about protecting fish then consider this:
Reduce bag limits such as only2 Kings over 90cm. Only one bluefin tuna. 5 snapper not 10. 10 whiting not 20. Raise the size limit on snapper to 35cm, trevally to 25cm etc, etc as per the limits in S.A.
Get rid of this towards 1million crap! Why put more load on the fisheries by introducing more rec fishos to the sport when Lots don't know or respect the rules.
When I was a kid going fishing with my Dad (20 years ago), I can remember big schools of different species everywhere around the piers. We would catch, at least, buckets of squid and cuda every time we went out. These days, I'm lucky to catch a salmon or a few squid at dawn in the same time (and yes I realise I'm crap at fishing).
My point is,
When I got back into fishing a few years ago, I obviously got my licence and I was actually shocked by the catch limits that are in place. I always think 'Who would need that much of one fish!?' So I fully agree with what you are saying. But banning/unbanning something needs real fact/stats, which I'm sorry to say, I haven't seen here in this thread. But, I would take sides with the people putting in the hours rather than taking the internet's version of what reality is. Although I am an absolute newb and a no-body at freediving/spearing and also new to scuba, my opinion is, that Spearos are more likely to see more than scuba divers over the long term and in general.
Logic would tell us that spearos can get out more, get to more varied places, and stay in the water longer than that of the majority of scuba divers. So by default, would see more and/or cover more ground...over the long term.
For a scuba diver to do what a spearo does in a day on the water, they would need how many tanks on the boat as well as how many service intervals/interval time?
It's starting to sound like a battle between Spearo and scuba diver. Why?
Just because they are both water sports, doesn't make them even remotely the same...
IMO! lol
Sorry for rant.