FFor a long time, he looked for that shark every time he
Josh Brown (left) and Albie Solano bring a catch including hogfish, fireback grouper and spiny lobster to the dock at Motts Channel Seafood
in May. There is a limit of two spiny lobsters per person per trip year-round in federal waters off North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
descended on a dive. But, Batts says simply, you can’t let fear con-trol
your life.
Batts began spearfishing before a permit was required. The strict
regulations now enforced on the commercial fishing industry are
the biggest change he has seen in his 50-plus years.
If fishing were a religion, regulations would be the bound text.
Fishermen must stay up to date on the ever-changing rules and
abide by them strictly, which can be difficult.
“There are different state and federal regulations and they don’t
always coincide,” Solano says, “so we have to go by two different
sets of rules.”
While the regulations can seem onerous at times, everyone wants
the same thing: to protect a resource that benefits all.
“I think the condition of the fishery is good right now, thanks to
the regulations,” says Batts, though he does note a decline specifi-cally
in the red grouper population.
Solano and Batts say there is sometimes a misconception that
those who make a living from marine resources see fish as nothing
but dollar signs.
“I am not in the business of fishing to make my money and get
out,” Solano says. “I want to see fish populations healthy and plen-tiful
for a long time to come.”
Another misconception is that spearfishermen wipe out whole
populations of fish in one area. In fishing lingo, these are called
“spots,” places where fish congregate, usually involving some sort of
structure like a shipwreck, coral bed or rocky ledge where they can
find shelter.
Solano and Batts say they make efforts to preserve the fish
populations on these spots.
“When I dive in an area, I try not to go back to it for four or
five months and I usually only visit a spot once a year so as not to
overfish one bottom,” Solano says. “I always leave fish so it can eas-ily
replenish.”
Finding good spots depends on many things, but sonar technol-ogy
aids in the process. Equipment has evolved leaps and bounds
since Batts started.
“We didn’t have all this fancy fish-finding stuff and even the dive
gear has advanced a whole lot,” he says.
Even with all the advantages the younger guys have, Batts doesn’t
mind the new generation moving into the area and, in fact, he has a
respect for them.
“Spearfishing is one of the most dangerous things I can think of
anybody doing,” he says. “I like to go out with the younger guys
and teach them things.”
It’s this same kind of passion that keeps Solano diving through
the winter, when grouper season is closed. Then he hunts difficult
species like lionfish, which can cause excruciating pain if they
sting you.
Solano explains the difficulty of diving in the winter with a
metaphor: “It’s like your boss telling you that you are going to work
10 times harder in conditions that are going to be five times more
dangerous, and you’ll make less money doing it.”
There are easier ways to make a living and safer, more practical
ways to get an adrenaline rush. Yet the divers keep going out, put-ting
themselves at the mercy of many elements time and again.
“It’s a wild, intrinsic beauty,” Kent says. “It’s just awesome to see a
fish in its natural habitat.”
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WBM june 2017
PHOTOS BY ALLISON POTTER