WHICH IS MORE THRILLING – BEING LEFT OUT AT SEA WITH A TIGER SHARK OR LANDING THE BIGGEST TUNA FOR THE DAY? SARAH PORTER ASKS FREE-DIVING SPEAR FISHERMEN WHAT GETS THEIR HEARTS PUMPING THE MOST

In the deep waters off Padang, Sumatra, the free-diving spear fisherman lies motionless and alone 20 meters under the sea. The solitude of the ocean engulfs him, and it is broken only by the few brilliant shafts of sunlight that allow him to see what lies beneath.

The enormous prehistoric spear feels light in his hand and he steadies it, waiting for the giant dogtooth tuna fish to turn back toward him. The adrenaline flowing through his body is overwhelming.

The huge pelagic fish is less than eight meters away. Curious, it turns back to investigate the deathly still body. The diver takes aim and shoots, the spear moving like lightning through the water and hitting the tuna straight through the head. Blood floods the water.

In spear fishing talk, a 40-kilogram doggie – the Holy Grail of fish – just got popped.

Free-dive spear fishing is an adrenaline sport like no other, and the waters surrounding Indonesia offer some of the best reef and open water hunting grounds in the world. Trevally, mangrove jack, Spanish mackerel and dogfish tuna troll these seas, and free divers come here from around the globe to test their spearing skills.

Spear fishing for reef fish or pelagic fish requires limited gear and no formal training. But it is not as easy to find a spear fishing center, and the number of people with the know-how to take beginners spearing is limited.

Infotech specialist Richard Pang and oil rig consultant David Griffin started spearing in Indonesia about three years ago. They bought their own gear recently. “To kit out properly, you probably need to spend about two to three thousand dollars,” says Richard. “You need a gun, a good set of fins, booties, a dive knife, a wet suit, a weight belt, a hood, a good mask and a snorkel. And you need good dive bags for traveling on a plane.”

Both men were introduced to the sport in Australia, but say their real lessons began in Indonesia with Edgar Collins, a Singapore-based agriculturalist widely regarded as the best spear fisherman in Southeast Asia. Edgar has been spearing for 35 years. “I learned from my father when I was five years old. He learned from the aborigines in New Guinea and northern Australia,” he says.

Edgar remembers when, at age 16, spring steel spears first hit the market at $100 each. “They just revolutionized the sport. We started hitting everything,” he says. “You’ve got to learn to stay down and dive – and then the hunting skills will come.”

The sport is undoubtedly a bloody one, and its impact on marine environments has been questioned. But Edgar and his peers argue that free-dive spear fishing is selective and conservative – and that most spear fishermen are well versed on the damage uncontrolled fishing can do.

“People that go down on tanks, they’re the ones who start doing damage,” says David. “Half the challenge is actually being able to dive with a lung capacity that gives you the ability to get there.” What these spear fishermen take from the waters off Sumatra is eaten on board. The spearers concentrate only on four- and five-star rated fish, which are good for eating. Any fish not eaten are given to the Indonesian boat crew to take home.

While staunch advocates of protecting marine ecosystems, these divers are also diving for the rush. Safety is key, but they also speak freely of their scariest moments. “Some of them include being down very, very deep. Or when you’ve got someone with you who doesn’t know what they’re doing,” says Jakarta-based Bruce Waterfield.

“But the biggest risk is shallow-water blackout.

Your body gets starved of oxygen, and it basically shuts down. Your esophagus will close down and you become unconscious. Then for a period of eight or nine seconds, if someone doesn’t realize what’s happened to you – you’ll actually drown.”

Once, a broken-down boat saw Edgar left in the Timor Sea, some 180 kilometers out from land. Both Edgar and Bruce have been left for dead in the Coral Sea off Australia – with nothing but a 12-foot tiger shark for company.

Ever protective, Edgar says the sport deserves the utmost respect. “It’s something that has to be taken seriously. And you’re dealing with fairly solid weapons,” he says. “A lot of men have a really good hunting instinct. You’ve just got to be in the ring and have a go.”

Contacts

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut mengenai free dive spear fishing di Indonesia: 

ANDRE HANDMADE SPEARGUNS Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai, Suwang Kauh 80221, Bali, Indonesia, tel: 62 361 722384, www.balispearfishing.com 

COLLINS SPEARGUNS David Reid, tel: 61 740 514270 www.collinsspearguns.com 

SUMATRA-BASED CHARTERED BOAT TRIPS Penyewaan kapal di Sumatra Todd Roesler, email waves@cbn.net.id, www.nomadsurfindonesia.com 

GENERAL SPEAR FISHING SITES Website umum mengenai spear fishing www.worldspearfishing.com/spearfishing.php