Spear Guns, Cross Bows, and Composite Bows?

[Rob Toronto]

Hi Everyone,
This is a fantastic Forum! I've been a member for a short time, and I must say, this forum is the best I've found. Kudos.
Anyway, got a question for all you experienced cruisers.
I'm not a gun/firearms type of person, but I do like the idea of having my crossbow (or a speargun, or composite bow) on board. Not so much for personal protection, but more as a part of our survival/fishing gear.
Reading the forums about the problems people have had with everything from actual firearms to flare guns, I was wondering what the general consensus is about having these types of 'weapons' aboard during an extended cruise?
I just thought, that being as poor a fisherman as I am, I'd have a better chance of eating if I had a bow or speargun as a backup to a rod and reel.

[goboatingnow]

Easier to carry firearms then bows especially cross bows. Illegal in lots of countries

Dave

[pressuredrop]

speargun should not be a problem, but realize there are places where you are not allowed to use them, i.e. the bahamas. best to also keep some pole spears and hawaiian slings on hand for those locations...

you should get a hawaiian sling and practice with it every chance you get, the are cheap, simple, and effective, i shoot bigger fish then my friends with the hawaiian sling because it is all i use now, but they just love their guns for some reason...

[SaucySailoress]

Just bear in mind that (in some countries) it is illegal to have spear guns and SCUBA gear on the same boat - a mate of mine once had his boat confiscated in Italy for that heinous crime...

[pressuredrop]

good point saucy, i also believe that in the bahamas you are not allowed to use any kind of spear (pole or sling) while scuba diving

[Unicorn Dreams]

Unless it's changed recently. Hawaiin slinfs were legal in the Bahana's, spear guns, not..Could have changed...

[Bash]

legalities aside, within the diving community at large spearfishing on scuba is not considered to be sporting. We all did it thirty years ago, but these days we know better.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Bash

legalities aside, within the diving community at large spearfishing on scuba is not considered to be sporting. We all did it thirty years ago, but these days we know better.

But if it be your dinner then IMO "sporting" don't come into the equation

But back to OP, as a general rule - if it looks like something someone might see as a weapon (even if you disagree), then in own interests to find out the rules for every country you visit. Assumptions at your own risk.

and having your peaceful purpose off pat would be no bad idea either . All the better if what you have can be dissamebled and stowed around the boat (not to hide it), things look differently when in pieces in various cupboards rather than strapped to the back of someone wearing a bandana whilst reciting movie quotes from Chuck Norris........

[Rob Toronto]

Great, thanks. I kinda assumed that a crossbow would be out, and an unstrung bow would be borderline, but as I said, I'm a crappy fisherman and I hate the idea of going hungry in a sea full of fish.
Believe it or not, I'd never seen a Hawaiian Sling before. Sounds like the best acceptable alternative. Besides, if you had any doubts about local legalities, it looks like it could be disassembled into its component parts, and stowed without it being an obvious 'weapon'. I like it.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

But if it be your dinner then IMO "sporting" don't come into the equation

that same shortsighted logic is used to justify all sorts of atrocities, such as fishing with dynamite, hunting with spotlights at night, ambush hunting at a desert water hole, et cetera.

when I first got my C card in 1972, you could dive almost any reef in the world and see large grouper, some topping out at over 100 kgs. But it's extremely rare to see fish like that anymore, and the reason is the number of people spearfishing with scuba. The technology gives divers far too much advantage over the fish.

I just came back from a couple weeks sea kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, during which time I dove a half dozen different locations. Didn't see a single grouper over 3 kgs. What that means is that I didn't see a single grouper, in six dives, that had reached sexual maturity.

Groupers grow at a rate of approximately 1 kg per year. If a diver swims up to a 40 kg grouper, even on scuba, it will not swim away. It will just sit there and watch you pull the trigger.

I'd have a difficulty time respecting anyone who would advocate spearfishing using scuba, even if it's just to put dinner on the plate. Any divers not capable of procuring dinner by spearfishing while free diving ought to settle on rice and beans until their skills develop.

[Pblais]

The technology gives divers far too much advantage over the fish.

The folks in boats have it nailed as well. Fishing is just something mankind has totally figured out past any reasonable level. It is a pardox. Being better at something has always meant something more. Fishing has progressed beyond all expectations.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Bash

[...] and the reason is the number of people spearfishing with scuba. The technology gives divers far too much advantage over the fish.

Bash, you are still talking about doing this as a form of sport or as "professional", i.e. selling the catch. I agree with you for that.

But if it is to put a fish on your own plate so you can eat that night, I do not agree at all that one can have too much advantage etc. Much is morally allowed in my book to gather food for survival. I would even find it criminal to try to prevent somebody from gathering food to feed his family.

I feel the same way about animals and even plants (incl. flowers): only kill it to eat it.

ciao!
Nick.

[hummingway]

It seems to me most people that are using scuba to fish probably aren't feeding their families that way out of need.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by hummingway

It seems to me most people that are using scuba to fish probably aren't feeding their families that way out of need.

Probably not but cruisers who do this are, I think. I never met cruisers who shot fish with spearguns just for the fun of it, or to sell it.

ciao!
Nick.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Probably not but cruisers who do this are, I think. I never met cruisers who shot fish with spearguns just for the fun of it, or to sell it.

ciao!
Nick.

You may have missed my point. They may be eating the fish but they won't starve if they fish using a different method, more in keeping with conservation efforts, and don't catch something or catch a species that is more plentiful. Just because you eat the fish you catch doesn't make it right.