Founded in 2016 to represent a spearfishing community in the state of Michigan.

The objective of Michigan Spearfishing Association is to:

- Work with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to promote a better understanding of spearfishing and the selective and responsible nature of the sport in Michigan.

- Work with biologists and enforcement agencies to gain access and fair use of our aquatic resources.

-Mentor others in a safe, productive, and responsible use of our aquatic resources.

-Promote environmentally friendly activities that work to clean our environment and help agencies manage our resources

-Work in connection with other clubs/associations to promote the safe practice of eliminating invasive species.

-Provide organized spearfishing competitions across the state

At MSA we promote Safety over everything else. No fish is worth your life. Every year there are fatalities in the sport of freediving and spearfishing. We highly recommend proper training such as that from freedive instructors international (fii). Nothing on the internet replaces proper hands on training but below are some safety tips to keep in mind every time you enter the water.

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Freedive Safely

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1. Dive with an evenly matched buddy, and conform to the level of the least capable
diver.

2. Weight yourself correctly (positively buoyant at surface) even after exhalation.

3. Do not hyperventilate to excess.

4. One up/ One down – diving with constant visual contact. When conditions allow each
diver should have a flag.

5. Maintain close, direct supervision of any freediver for no less than 30
seconds after he surfaces.

6. Make your minimum surface interval twice the duration of your dive time.

7. Do not take every dive to its limit. Maintain a reserve.

8. Review, practice and discuss how to recognize and handle shallow water blackouts
and near loss of motor control incidents.

Rescue Skills

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1. Get victim to surface immediately. Establish positive buoyancy for the both of you.

2. For a witnessed blackout; remove mask and snorkel, blow on face-eyes, stimulate
face with a few taps, vocalize encouragement to breathe, otherwise open the airway
and begin immediate rescue breathing. 1 breath every 5 seconds

3. Get victim to land or boat ASAP, manage ABCs (airway-breathing-circulation) start CPR, 30 compressions to 2 ventilation’s, as needed.

4. If evacuation from water is prolonged, monitor Airway & Breathing and provide
rescue breathing (1 breath every 5 sec.) during transport if needed.

5. Seek help from EMS (emergency medical services) 911, or hail the Coast Guard on
Channel 16 on VHF radio.

6. After a SWB, STOP diving and immediately seek medical evaluation.

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The Freedivers Recover Vest

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Make sure to read these two articles and also check out Dr. Terry Mass and Oceanic Safety Systems website www.oceanicss.com
The Freedivers Recovery Vest (PDF)
The Case for a Device to manage Freediver blackout (PDF)

DiveWise – A Freediving Education Initiative www.divewise.org

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The Michigan Spearfishing Association abides by the Spearfishing Code of Conduct. We promote ethical spearfishing practices. Here are a few things to do to help the fisheries, the environment, and protect our natural resource 

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Spearfishing Code of Conduct:

The Responsible Spearfisher:
1. Values and respects the marine environment and all living things in it.
2. Employs the selectivity of spearfishing to take only what is needed.
3. Uses patience and awareness in targeting fish, and avoids undersized or overfished species to help ensure healthy fish stocks now and into the future.
4. Recognizes the limits of their ability, experience and equipment, only pursuing prey when there is a high likelihood of success.
5. Strives to dispatch their selected fish in a prompt and effective manner.
6. Processes their catch to maintain quality and avoid waste.
7. Undertakes to learn and comply with applicable laws and regulations and follows safe spearfishing practices.
8. Helps others to enjoy and respect the marine environment through exemplary conduct and mentorship.
9. Recognizes the significance of promoting accurate perceptions of spearfishing.
10. Upholds the highly selective, honorable and ethical nature of responsible spearfishing.

Spearfishing Forever ™

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Dispelling Negative Connotations of Underwater Spearfishing:

 

1. “Spearfishing is cheating or just unsporting.”

Due to some similarities in equipment, underwater spearfishing is usually lumped in with bow fishing, gigging, or darkhouse spearing. Perhaps as a result of this association, with fishing methods perceived as “less sporting” than angling, many game species are off limits for underwater spearfishing. And, if  in reality underwater spearfishing were in the same category as those other methods, the restrictions might be reasonable. However, in practice, underwater spearfishing is unequivocally THE most demanding and athletic, and therefore sporting, of all modes of fishing.

In order to make this distinction between methods clear, consider how underwater spearfishing does the following:

1. Tests the limits of human endurance and stamina through breath holding, swimming, and dives potentially reaching depths of 60+ feet.

2. Necessitates the knowledge of various fish identification, as well as their water preferences, habitat, and behavior patterns.

3. Requires the pursuit of quarry in their natural element - as opposed to other forms of spearing where the fisherman remain in their own environment.

4. Combines multiple disciplines including precision marksmanship into one activity.

 

These characteristics establish spearfishing as the ultimate fishing sport. The inherent level of difficulty coupled with required athleticism is natural barrier to entry for many traditional fisherman. Most opt out since it is far easier to catch fish with a hook and line than to hunt them in their own environment.

 

   2. “Spearfishing will deplete the game fish population.”

Free-dive underwater spearfishing does not create any unfair advantage compared to traditional fishing. Multiple studies show that spearfishing is comparable in CPUE (catch rate per unit effort) compared to line fisherman. In addition, the numbers of hook and line fisherman and their yearly catch vastly supersedes that of spearfisherman and their respective take.

Besides being overshadowed by the army of anglers in Michigan, the effects of spearfishing will also be lower since the amount of fishing hours a diver can have in the water is usually far shorter than traditional angling - as a result of decreased water visibility, loss of body heat, motion sickness, and physical exertion. In general, spearfishermen get their fish and then go home.

 

   3. “Fish cannot be measured and then released after being speared.”

Concerns about spearfishermen misjudging fish size before pulling the trigger are reasonable but, ultimately, overblown. Spearfisherman have the ability to be very selective in their targeting of fish (just like a hunter with other game), and the accidental illegal take of undersized finned fish is comparable for spearfisherman and line fisherman - 1.8% to 1%, respectively.

 

 

Benefits to Spearfishing as a method of take:

 

A) There is little to no by-catch

With traditional angling it is hard to say what you will catch on a particular day. It is a common occurrence for a traditional angler to be targeting one species and catch another while fishing. This does not occur during spearfishing, we are able to see and catch our target fish without an unnecessary mutilation of non-targeted fish. The chances of a fish escaping a spear and going to waste is highly unlikely.

 

B) There is no latent death from catch and release fishing

When anglers participate in catch and release fishing it causes a great deal of strain on the fish—even to the point where many of those fish die shortly after being released—if  the fish does not die of exhaustion it can be maimed from the hook, handling, or netting.  It is very common while spearfishing during the whitefish season in November, to see many dead and dying whitefish littering the bottom that have been foul-hooked and then returned to the water to die.   Spearos can practice “release and catch” where a fish can be recognized as the wrong species or of a small size and it is “released” by not squeezing the trigger and letting it swim away unharmed. When spearos shoot a targeted fish, the percentage of fish retrieved is extremely high, with no wanton waste.

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C) No littering or disruption of ecosystem

Traditional angling can disrupt an ecosystem by leaving behind hazardous excess fishing line, garbage, and lures. Spearfishing does not introduce so many foreign and harmful objects into the ecosystem, in fact, spearfishing allows us to help clean up the ecosystem by finding and picking up litter and other debris found along the lake bottom.