Line fishing even popping is a capture first then release sport. You don't choose what u catch, you can control it to a degree but ultimately if an undersized or protected species jumps on your line you are forced to fight the fish then release it. Spear fishing is the most sustainable form of fishing as you choose your target first then choose to spear it. Responsible spear fishermen will pick and choose their fish carefully. As mentioned before when practiced properly it is a very conservative sport.
It bothers me that many line fishermen think they r being fish friendly because they practice catch and release however many fail to realise that many fish that swim away actually die later due to stress I have seen it many a time.
I agree Rodney should not have speared that gt but don't go bagging out all spearos because of one guy. I saw a bloke jigging gts on the weekend and keeping them for crab pot bait, doesn't mean all jiggers are bad!
Simply because you can choose what you spear does not inherently make it sustainable.
We aren't here to crucify spear fishing, but our view point is that it has no point except for meat gathering purposes - which is exactly the opposite of the values of this website.
Now, many fish that swim away and die? That's rubbish. I call BS. We, amongst others, have worked together with tagging programs and other research gathering exercises and can categorically say that the release and re-capture rate is high and positive overall.
