Spear-Fishing

From the moment I tasted my first boileen I was determined to learn how to spear fish.  Groceries on Bequia were so limited that it seemed a good idea to look for food options other than in the shops, plus I really wanted more of that tasty fish soup!

Spear-fishing was not something women did on Bequia;  they prepared what went in, on or around the fish but were not in the business of catching them,   that was a job for the men. It was therefore difficult to find a spear-gun small enough for me to use, the big ones were too long and cumbersome and I wasn’t able to pull the rubber back all the way.  I was finally able to buy a small gun at the Ships’ Chandlery and was ready for my first lesson.

One Saturday I went with Mac and others to Industry Bay, located on the east side of the Island past Spring Bay.  Donning mask, snorkel and fins, I watched the others as they speared fish in the reefs.  It looked simple to me, attach the spear to the gun,  pull back the rubber, aim at the fish and shoot.  Once speared, the fish was removed from the spear and threaded onto a rope so that the diver could scope out his next victim.

It wasn’t as easy as it looked!  I missed my targets time after time and was getting very frustrated.  Mac finally introduced me to a species of reef fish called “Bleary Eye”, so named because they can’t see well.  He told me that they were easy to shoot and he was right, I started having success once I knew what to look for.  “Bleary Eyes” lurk in the reefs, so I had to watch out for coral scrapes as well as moray eels while fishing.  I found I could swim right up to them and they would just peer at me sightlessly from the reef, making them easy targets.

I fished that day to my heart’s content.  I didn’t have many fish on my string but  at least I would be contributing to the lunch pot.  I was so intent on fishing that I didn’t realize I had become separated from the others, and evidently had been for quite some time!  The water at Industry was not deep, and I had been assured there were no sharks (yeah, right! Still kept my eyes peeled for ‘em!), but I didn’t like the fact that I was alone.

I swam towards shore, which was further away than I thought it should be.  When I surfaced I was totally disoriented.  Where the HELL was I?  There was no beach bar, neither any people, and I had no clue what had happened.  It turns out the tide was very strong and had carried me over to Spring Bay, which dawned on me when I saw a few semi-familiar landmarks.  Shoe-less and sun-burned I trudged back to Industry Bay, proudly bearing my string of the little red reef fish called “Bleary Eye”.