Title: Diving and spearfishing in South Africa
Author: Piet van Rooyen
Publisher: Randomhouse Struik
Imprint: Travel and Heritage
Cape Town, South Africa 2012
ISBN 9781431701018 / ISBN 978-1-4317-0101-8
Softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 160 pages, numerous photos, images and maps
Whether you are an old hand at the game or have just recently bought your first speargun, you already know what it is to have been bitten by the spearfishing bug. As a new spearo, you have probably been diving for crayfish or alikreuk (periwinkle) for a few years and been occasionally startled by a hottentot, roman or gatecrashing galjoen appearing out of nowhere from behind a curtain of foam around a red-bait-lined pinnacle, or from a jungle of kelp. Maybe you were diving for oysters in the shallow waters around Mossel Bay when, suddenly, a thick-lipped white head twice the size of yours appeared through the turbulence, followed by the huge body of a musselcracker, giving you the fright of your life.
Or you may have been turning for the surface after struggling with an obstinate crayfish near Tongaat or Zinkwazi when a dark shadow glided over you, and you looked up to see the torpedo-like shape of a king mackerel passing gracefully and seemingly without effort on its way up current. That may have been the day you decided to get yourself a speargun. You are a hunter, after all.
With fewer and fewer wilderness areas and less and less chance of seeing wildlife except in reserves, the sea is one of the last places in a crowded world where one can still be alone with nature and where 'game' is still abundant. This book is intended as a how, where and what of spearfishing in South Africa.
The Diver
The Equipment
The Physiology of Breath-Hold Diving
Spearfishing Techniques
Fitness for Spearfishing
The Boat
The Fish
Sharks
Diving Areas
The Dangers of Spearfishing
Regualtions and Protective Measures
Claiming a Spearfishing Record