Spearfishing and Freediving Hazards Spearfishing has been around for a very long time and was used by our ancestors to capture fish from the oceans, lakes, streams, and rivers around the world. Our ancestors used sticks with sharpened ends to spear their fish, but you will find that such a method is not used in spearfishing today. Today, spearfishing is done with slings or elastic powered or pneumatic powered spear guns. You will also find that freediving is also incorporated with spearfishing to make for a fun hunting experience. Remember that both spearfishing and freediving contain various hazards that must be taken into consideration when embarking on this hunting venture. Spearfishing hazards Other than accidentally discharging the spear gun and hitting a person with it or doing the risky task of hitting yourself, there are other hazards that exist. One of those hazards is line tangles. Line tangles can prevent you from being able to make it to the surface, and anything that prevents you from being able to make it to the surface can be very dangerous. Just remember that you are more likely to get tangled up in your own line. Using a propylene line that floats can significantly decrease your chances of becoming tangled in your line. Shortening your line when in extremely shallow water can also reduce your risk of becoming tangled. Also, be aware that you are at a greater risk of becoming tangled during the period right after spearing the fish. The fish will put up a fight, causing you to fight it while you are still under the water. Give some slack and work your way to the surface. Another hazard is when larger animals can grab your small fish and give you a good tug. If this happens, you may end up under water longer than you thought you would be. So be sure not to wrap the line around your hand in order to give yourself some leverage. This can be dangerous to your hand and can put you at risk for shallow water blackout or drowning. This also gives you a good reason to carry a knife with you. Speargun Safety You also don’t want to forget spear gun safety. You want to load your spear gun while it is in the water, make sure the safety is on during loading, and never fire it outside of the water. You don’t want to swim with a loaded gun if the water is rough, so wait to load it after you have bypassed any murky water. Rocks can also present a hazard if one is behind your target, causing your spear to bounce back at you. Freediving hazards Shallow water blackout is a huge hazard when freediving. If you rapidly ascend to the surface, you can trigger shallow water blackout near the surface. This can also be the result of hyperventilation before diving in order to increase the amount of time under the water. The best way to keep this from happening is to not hyperventilate for long before diving and not pushing yourself to stay under longer than you should. Another freediving hazard is decompression sickness. If you are someone who enjoys a lot of deep dives, make sure you take adequate breaks in between. By not allowing enough time in between dives, you may feel fatigued, which is the first sign of decompression sickness. In conclusion There are other hazards such as chest squeeze that causes blood to shift into the lung, but this scenario is very unlikely. The hazards you read about above are actually the most common hazards you may come into contact with, especially shallow water blackout and becoming tangled in your line. As long as you take the proper preventive measures before your dive and allow yourself ample time between dives as well as follow the spear gun precautions, these are hazards you can avoid while enjoying your underwater hunt.
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