Apecks

My opinion is spearing on gas is a real cowardly way to spear fish.

I have tried it twice, I wouldn't feel it fair to comment unless i had tried it.

Apnea is the only way to spear IMO,

One Breath, One Chance, One Shot

Spearing on gas has same end result & the one breath, one chance, one shot applies to scuba too! I just wonder how many freedivers shoot down there and shoot the first thing they see? Spearing on scuba in my opinion is far more selective and requires better stalking skills (unless you are on a rebreather!)

Has anybody got the GPS co-ordinates for the Sarasin?

Checked Thai Wreck Diver & search the web but could not find anything listed

Seaduction in Pattaya may help you on your way. A simple google will help you find them.

http://www.seaductiondiving.com/

Have you tried planet scuba near Phrom Pom BTS station? They did OW courses up there and where not getting the fills from Pattaya.

I am looking to do some spear fishing and I am having trouble finding a place in Phuket that sells spearguns.

The scuba shops to not sell them. I have check with a couple of Fishing Bait & Tackle shops but have had no luck. I am living in Kata and i would appreciate any information as to where to look in my area.

Thanks

SEAduction dive center in Pattaya are a distributor for spearguns in Thailand, they used to do Cressi but I think they are now stocking & selling Picasso gear. Drop them a line

Did anyone identify the boat they were spearfishing from? Please post it if possible as I would be interested in going out on a spearfishing trip (Have PADI speciality & own speargun) and could possibly get a group of 5-6 hunters interested if we need to charter the whole boat.

Cheers

Can anybody recommend a decent dive operator down in Phuket for our next trip down there?

Just had a bad experience with one of the operators on the west coast (part filled tanks, boat filled above capacity, lost kit etc) last week and wondered if anyone could make any recommendations.

Don't mind paying a bit more than the average for a comfortable and enjoyable day's diving.

Awesome!

If anyone is interested Seaduction are planning a 5 day liveaboard tuna, marlin & sailfish spearfishing trip off Phuket (20 - 25th September). Anybody interested? Call Andy on 038710029.

Seaduction is a small dive operator with their own boat that offer good service, just imho.

Agree Danny and Andy run a good shop and boat

I can well recommend Seaduction too - they tend to offer quality rather than quantity (not operating a rota system like some of the bigger outfits). Their recent 3 day run of dives on the Petchburi Bremmen been a prime example (a wreck that not many people get too).

I would not worry too much about diving in Pattaya. From my experience it is far more professionally run than other areas of Thailand (Phuket scared me stiff).

Yesterday I dove the Hardeep in Samaesan. At the stern was a large, but dead, parrotfish. I have seen this large creature for several years as have many other regular divers. Still had colouration so hadn't been dead long. When I came up, the boat captain told me that on the Saturday, a Japanese operator took down divers with spear guns. He claims they killed it.

So what can we do?

Does not sound like it was killed by spearfishermen (they would generally 'string up' such a fish to take to the surface). It could possibly be the thai dynamite or ammonia fishing that takes place out there (check out the wrecked fishing boat at about 20m off Koh Rong Nong). Rather risky (dynamite) bearing in mind there are 4-8 live 500llb bombs laying off the Hardeep since WWII.

If anyone is interested Seaduction are planning a 5 day liveaboard tuna, marlin & sailfish spearfishing trip off Phuket (20 - 25th September). Anybody interested? Call Andy on 038710029.

It's not ilegal AFAIK, I don't know about a Japanese Operatior, but Seaduction, a Pattaya Diveshop is promoting that "Sport". In my opinion a Dive Shop to avoid. PADI promoting Project AWARE should stop giving licences to Diveshops (Seaduction is a PADI Center) offering Spearfishing. Maybe then this would stop.

Do PADI still run there sperfishing speciality? Maybe it has been discontinued but they certainly used to have one!

I recently undertook the 'Underwater Hunter' indepth course with Seaduction dive centre. It is a really good practical course covering safety, hunting tactics, game fish identification etc. I really enjoy spearfishing and find it far more selective than normal fishing. I normally BBQ all fish caught, so really I do not see much difference between that and buying it from a market (apart from it is guaranteed fresh and has not been caught by a trawler along with sharks, turtles, reef fish etc).

SOURCE: Pattaya One News: August 29th 2008

Iranian dies following Scuba Diving Accident.

There was drama at the Bali Hai Port located at the south-end of Pattaya Beach on Friday when an Iranian Tourist was transported from Larn Island in a critical condition following a Scuba Diving accident in the waters off nearby Sark Island.

Mr. Ali aged 30 was part of a 5 man expedition and is thought to have suffered from Decompression Sickness also known as "The Bends" after a rapid ascent to the surface following a dive.

CPR was administered by Dive Masters at the scene and Mr. Ali was rushed to Hospital, however despite the best efforts of the Dive Masters and Medical Staff, Mr. Ali could not be revived and was pronounced dead moments after arriving at Hospital.

This report appears to be extremely inaccurate. I have very reliable information from people at the scene that:-

The Iranian tourist was snorkeling not scuba diving.

There was obviously no instance of DCS as the guy was not breathing compressed air.

The guy was wearing both a wet suit and life jacket at the time of the incident and was in waist deep water.

The tourists were observed for a period of 1/2 prior to the incident and appeared to be comfortable in the water with no signs of distress.

CPR was administered by some 4+ EPR instructors that were on the boat taking part in a diving trip en route to Koh Sark and continued until arrival at hospital.

No statement from the witness closest to the incident has been received (A fellow Iranian tourist also snorkeling in the area) so all accounts prior to the rescuers at present are hearsay.

Due to the victims religious beliefs no autopsy was carried out so the cause of death other than drowning or health problems cannot be ruled out.

A very sad incident but unfounded conclusions should not be drawn.