…Is there a place for it?

The minister responsible for Fisheries is struggling to decide if all spear fishing should be banned in Jamaica.  Everyone from fishermen to environmental groups has arguments for a ban, mostly self-serving and some more convincing than others:

• Spear fishers rob and damage fish traps. Some do.  This can lead to an even uglier problem, when the trap fishermen decide to punish a suspected robber themselves.

• Spear fishers take everything they can get, even the little fish.  This is probably less true of spearmen than of pot and net fishers.  A spear fisher isn’t going to waste effort on something he can’t use.  Hookah boats are the real enemy here.
• Spear fishers don’t respect game laws.  They are not the only ones who kill turtles and take lobster and conch in the closed seasons.  We already have laws under which every person – spearmen, other fishermen and beachside turtle poachers – who is caught doing these things can and should be punished.
• Spear fishing is dangerous to tourists. Spear fishers generally stay away from areas that are regularly used by divers, snorkelers, jet skis, parasailers or water-skiers, simply because these activities scare the fish away.  The biggest risk is that the spearman will be run down by a boat or jet ski.
• Spear fishing is dangerous to the spearmen, and puts a needless burden on the health care system.  This is partly true.  Free divers often end up with damaged ears, eyes and sinuses.  Those who spear on SCUBA can get “the bends” if they stay down too long and come up too fast.  If they’re lucky, someone will drive them to the decompression chamber at Discovery Bay.  This facility is expensive, but they’re usually treated even if they can’t pay.  (If they’re unlucky, they may be crippled for life.)

The main arguments against a spear fishing ban are social, practical and financial:

1. Spear fishing is a last resort, the only way some men can provide their extended families with food, and if stopped they may turn to crime.  Sadly, this is no less true of a lot of other fishers.  There are too many people chasing too few fish, and none of them is making a good living at it.  Finding other jobs for these people and training them for other employment has to be a central part of any marine conservation and fisheries development program.
2. A spear fishing ban is too difficult to enforce, and too expensive.  Certainly a spearman in the water is hard to see and impossible to catch without a boat.  Right now, all of the bodies responsible for coastal enforcement – marine parks, police forces and Fisheries – are starved for the staff and funds they need to get working patrol boats in the water.  However, it’s not hard to spot a spear fisher on land.  Every day they stroll the roads and beaches with fins, spears and strings of little fish in plain sight.  With the will to do it and a little cooperation among agencies, a spearing ban could be effectively enforced at reasonable cost.

Finally, there may be a place for spearmen in fish conservation.  By far the safest and most effective way to take the lionfish that have invaded our reefs is with a Hawaiian Sling – a long, hand-held three-tipped spear.  Lionfish are much more dangerous than spear fishers to both our fish and our visitors.

Can we find a compromise?