spearfishing
When did spearfishing become popular?
What are some targets for spearfishing?
What tools are used in spearfishing?
What is a Hawaiian sling?
Why is spearfishing considered a sustainable sport?
spearfishing, sport of underwater hunting that became popular in the early 1930s and after World War II spread rapidly throughout the world. Targets of underwater hunters may include sharks and barracuda in salt water and such nongame species as carp in fresh water.
Bowfishing is a sport related to spearfishing in which the hunter uses a conventional bow and specially designed arrows to shoot fish that live in shallow water. Freshwater species such as carp and gar are pursued by hunters who either wade or use shallow-draft boats to maneuver in the water.
An ancient tradition that evolved into a sport
The practice of spearfishing dates back to the Upper Paleolithic Period and has long served as a means of obtaining food in coastal and aquatic regions. It has been described as a collective activity in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Polybius and the poet Oppian, including references to tools and methods. The trident of the Greek god Poseidon may have been adapted from a fishing spear. Spearfishing continues to hold cultural and spiritual significance for many Indigenous communities, including Polynesian societies, where the practice has evolved into a sport that reflects a deep connection to nature, cultural heritage, and shared responsibility for the land. With its widespread popularity in the 20th century, spearfishing was almost made into an Olympic sport in the late 1960s but ultimately lost out to synchronized swimming.
Spearfishing tools and techniques
Prehistoric peoples used simple spears or harpoons made from wood, animal bone, or stone for spearfishing. Barbed or hooked poles or tridents were also used. Modern underwater weapons range from simple hand spears to guns capable of penetrating the largest fish. The simplest weapon is the Hawaiian sling, a wooden tube with an elastic loop at one end. The shaft, which is tipped by one of a variety of spearheads, is drawn through the tube and pulled back, stretching the loop. When released, the shaft is propelled forward. In the mid-1930s Alec Kramarenko patented an underwater gun in which the spear was propelled by a compressed spring. Shortly after, there appeared a spring-propulsion gun invented by a Frenchman, Maxime Forlot, and a popular spear gun designed by his compatriot Georges Beuchat that was propelled by a rubber elastic band. Other guns were designed that used gunpowder, carbon dioxide, or compressed air to propel the spear. One of the latter type, invented in 1956 by Juan Vilarrubis of Spain, became popular because of its accuracy, power, and simplicity of operation.
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The foregoing are rifle-type weapons in which the spear either travels through a long barrel or is guided along the barrel’s upper surface. In all of them the spear shaft is released by a trigger mechanism. Spearfishing guns often have a line attached to the shaft, making retrieval easier. On strike, the line holds the quarry securely.
Stalking and shooting the quarry underwater is usually only the beginning of a spearfisher’s battle. After a fish is hit, it must be held on a harpoon line and landed. With large fish this may mean an underwater ride as the spearfisher is towed through the water.
Competitive spearfishing
Spearfishing has been criticized by some as a form of environmental vandalism. However, proponents of the practice argue that spearfishing targets only specific species and sizes of fish and accounts for less than 1 percent of the fish killed by other recreational and commercial fishing activities. Spearfishing also results in minimal bycatch, does not harm habitats or endangered species, does not contribute to overfishing, and may therefore be considered a sustainable sport.
Organizations such as the World Underwater Federation (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques) and the International Underwater Spearfishing Association have defined specific rules and regulations governing competitive spearfishing. The first international competition was held in 1957 in the Croatian town of Mali Lošinj, which was then part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Spain, Italy, the United States, Brazil, and France have led the world in competitive spearfishing at different times. This underwater sport saw its heyday in the 1980s and ’90s but has since lost much of its grandeur because of a lack of funding and criticism from environment-minded people and groups. Nonetheless, the appeal of the sport continues, and diving clubs across the world hold yearly local, national, and international competitions in spearfishing. The competitions do not permit the use of scuba, and the contestants dive while holding their breath.