Hi guys, I need a bit of advice and feedback here.
We are a group of students in Malta with a common passion: spear fishing.
Recently we were pondering the idea of setting up a spear fishing charter business in Malta where we take foreign and Maltese spear fishers to some of the best spear fishing places in Malta. We always thought of it as an idea until we were given an assignment at university to try and set up a business so we decided to give this a go.
For now we are still gathering feedback both from Maltese people and foreigners. As far as i know there is no one in Malta that focuses on spearfishing and apnea. Please correct me if I'm wrong. For now this is only an assignment but if we get considerable feedback this could definitely change.
There will be two types of charters, being
The shallow water charter,
For novice people with a working depth of 15m
The target fish can be any but mostly it is all about breams, brown meagre, small amberjacks, mahi mahi(dorado), octopus, and others
Deep water charters
For the more adventurous and capable apneists starting from 15m onwards.... the reefs for this specific type of fishing inhibit some of the great snapper, amberjacks and groupers.
With both type of charters the group will be offering a free jigging session on the same day.
The boat we will be using has a capacity of 6 poeple, including the apnea instructor and the boatman. Capacity might be small but for safety reasons its better that way.
Top class Equipment like fins (we use exclusively C4 fins), spear guns(wooden totem sub guns), weights ect. may be given but as you know, this is not just something you wear on and can use, there is a process to learn using your own equipment.
Prices will be moderate and any catches shall be kept by the clients. We would also be focusing on the idea of photo opportunities, well I think you guys know that malta is beautiful.
If such a company is setup, would you be interested??? Any feedback is greatly appreciated guys.
Thanks
Divinu
Ara l pirott aw !! Xanna siehbi ?
Nice idea e, gl al futur ;)
Chris 8)
ara min aw ostra. Mela daqsekk offroading jew hehe. Thanks xbin jekk ikun aw min hu interessat nibdew nahsbuha bis-serjeta din l-idea.
gd idea divinu
would be more than interested.
good idea, esp for novices... remember, i think people you take out will have to have, minimum, a licence to use a harpoon....
No problem robby, the Maltese law is set to introduce special licenses for tourism purposes. Considering malta in particular, if the tourism venture succeeds, i don't think that there will be much resistance from local authorities.
They would even amend the law for the required reason... just like the areas prohibited for spearfishing, remember?
Quote from: FREEDIVE on December 01, 2009, 09:46:09 CET
(My personal opinion) If you take someone to the best fishing places, thats the last day it remains the best. Especially with sedentary species. Once I took a "Friend" to a special gurbell cache which I had been reaping for many years, greed soon took over and the griebel vanished. Take people to a good fishing spot and within days you get someone letting off explosives there and another spot is gone forever.
Very good point, as things nomally happen in Malta, I can't really see that this idea will work out. But that's just my opinion. Also, if this will become a daily buisness, how many fish will you expect to keep on catching?
talking about spearfishing chartering, its a very nice thing to start where we need a very professional staff to start doing this here in Malta. But.......... as everyone knows malta is so small that its very difficult to do it. Than one have to consider what is espected by the "clients" to catch or just to see. Here in Malta like lot of other countries there is the illegale spearfishing where cannot give even a garantee of seeing the fish so immagine of catching fish. Do you think that they will come again? We ve just been in Tunes for a spearfishing competition, and it had cost me about 100euro fer every fish I had. Do you think I will go again in the same place? The place was wonderfull but it was over fished by scuba-divers. Here in Malta one can see doing spearfishing diving with cylinders onto wrecks nearly every day. I don t think you can garantee this. About what freedive said, last winter during a competition I had to show one of my best paces at Lapsi. No one knew about it cos for sure in the first 4hrs of the competition someone should had tried it. I got stuck a spear in it and after a week I didn t found it and so the fish. I check this rock every single dive I do an not a single fish. Have to say that under this rock use to find 40-60kg of fish
Quote from: FREEDIVE on December 01, 2009, 09:46:09 CET
(My personal opinion) If you take someone to the best fishing places, thats the last day it remains the best. Especially with sedentary species. Once I took a "Friend" to a special gurbell cache which I had been reaping for many years, greed soon took over and the griebel vanished. Take people to a good fishing spot and within days you get someone letting off explosives there and another spot is gone forever.
from my experiance i agrea with freedive and emic and see hunter here in malta we have very few and if you tell your secret places make it for sure you don't have the chance to visit it again ;)
If it's mostly from the perspective of being able to take people out by boat who don't normally have access to one and being with experienced spearfishers then it stands a good chance of working, but not from the aspect of a fishing charter but more technique and experience for the reasons stated above.
You'll also need to see about getting the boat commercially registered, have a skipper with a commercial license and associated insurance implications that come with chartering.
also to add to skip's post, an adequate insurance for injury or death to the clients(happens)
Hey guys, I understand how you feel about the subject and I would agree with you. The very same thing happened to me once. However we are trying to focus on tourists and foreign enthusiasts that come to Malta for a fishing holiday. That way the risk of having too many people coming to a single area is decreased. Its not the same as taking a group of locals that once they learn the basics they start invading your turf. I think it is more controlled this way.And as you know every fisherman leaves the best places for himself so we also like to have some places where we can have fun.
As regards to costs we are taking into consideration everything including licences to harpoons, boat licence and insurance etc... And as stated above, we are only gathering feedback for an assignment at the moment. However we are quite positive of the idea.
and thank you for your feedback guys, it is of great help! We are not looking just for positive things, in fact the more things you point out to us that might pose a problem the better. :p
Unfortunately you cannot set it up strictly for tourists.... If a Maltese would like to join you cannot refuse if he's a paying customer!
I 4got how to apply some photos in the forum>> Can somebody Help me pls! I have Nice Pictures including some nice sized octopus that i would like to share wuth you guys! :D :D
u have to be a premium or VIP member to upload photos King!
QuoteUploading of pictures to the gallery has now been restricted to Premium and VIP Members only.
Registered online members can view the gallery and leave comments.
As per announcement http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/index.php?page=10 posted in April 2009
Guys, you are very right in pointing out the defects AND MANY THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK.... but
all of us are forgetting one thing.... when are we going to try to change the perception of the authorities on spearfishing??
what i know for sure guys is that to date there are so many spear-fisherman diving and selling the one off fish.... so even if not legal... it is commercial, and i am not lying on this... it is hard to earn a profit being ethical......the law is absurd in this regard.
I can bring one FICTICIOUS case to dimension, imagine cooking a 16kg grouper?- it doesn't even fit in an oven, and filleting such fish, well it is not the best of options.
Last option, don't catch it and leave it to the scuba diver spearfisherman..... NO WAY! THAT 'S THE MALTESE WAY, all beacause of the authorities.- they see no benefit financially to protect the sea in general.... they think that a fish stays in the protected area and does not migrate..... PATHETIC! even groupers migrate.....lol
i mean to hurt no one but it's the truth can't be ignored... it is not the spearfisherman's fault who most of the times have that one off big catch... ETHICAL SPEARFISHERMAN EARN NO PROFIT, don't imagine a 16kg grouper every day like the 70's.. once in a lifetime maybe....
the fish is on the decrease, and it is not that the authorities see the potential in spear-fishing tourism... but countries like croatia, corsica see it, they are in the mediterrean.. how come??? WE ARE AFRAID TO CHANGE, AFRAID OF THE MALTESE THEMSELVES. If we create the market stronger contribution will flow to government than the local fishing market, i bet you the change in laws will be so radical....
WHERE IS THE PROTECTION OF FISH STOCK? WHERE IS THE BAG LIMIT IN MALTA?- this stops illegal spearfishing or unethical spearfishing
MORE FINANCES=MORE TAX REVENUE=MORE FUNDS= MORE JOBS=MORE POSES OPPORTUNITIES FOR POLITICIANS=MORE POSITIVE LAWS AND REGULATIONS= MORE ENFORCEMENT= RICHER SEAS
PEOPLE, I SPOKE WITH SPEARFISHERMAN THAT DIVED IN THE 70-90'S FOR FISH IN MALTA, CATCHING 4 GROUPERS OF 20KGS EACH WAS ORDINARY BUSINESS.... TODAY.. OUR CATCHES ARE PATHETIC COMPARED TO THEIRS
If there is tourism involved in Malta, the government does what it needs to be done and at lightening speed.. see the scuba diving laws... and i assure you the feedback i got from foreingers about the idea is amazing..... WE HAVE A JEWEL(MALTA AND GOZO) BUT WE DON'T REALISE HOW MUCH FOREIGNERS LOVE IT! AND FOREIGNERS ALREADY HAVE BAG LIMITS IN THEIR COUNTRIES... SO THEY FIND NO PROBLEMS IN THESE RULES.
The idea which me and divinu are developing for an assignment is something that i am considering at the moment...... but not for malta... probably if i migrate to somewhere LIKE CORSICA.. needless to say it will be a new challenge but it won't be a problem for me and the level of education i posses.
But we are so afraid to try and fail my friends, well guys... not me i am really inclined to try... failing costs nothing.... not trying costs a lot
Granitu, as I said earlier, I still can't imagine this sort of thing happening in Malta, and the reason is that in Malta one have to take many things into consideration.
Quote from: Granitu on December 02, 2009, 12:49:41 CET
I can bring one FICTICIOUS case to dimension, imagine cooking a 16kg grouper?- it doesn't even fit in an oven, and filleting such fish, well it is not the best of options.
Granitu, ONCE I had the luck of catching one of 14.5Kg. After I gutted the fish and removed the head, it became much less. Then I had cut the fish into some 4 pieces if I remember well, and gave a piece to each of the 2 buddies whom were with me. So I was left with some 2 portions and the head, which I frozen immediately except for 1 portion which I cooked. So don't always assume that big fish = $
Quote from: Granitu on December 02, 2009, 12:49:41 CET
WHERE IS THE PROTECTION OF FISH STOCK? WHERE IS THE BAG LIMIT IN MALTA?- this stops illegal spearfishing or unethical spearfishing
MORE FINANCES=MORE TAX REVENUE=MORE FUNDS= MORE JOBS=MORE POSES OPPORTUNITIES FOR POLITICIANS=MORE POSITIVE LAWS AND REGULATIONS= MORE ENFORCEMENT= RICHER SEAS
Again, altough I am one of the few whom really cares for the sea, I still think that what you wrote is naive. The = = = = = sum you made would work beautifully in most EU states, but do you really beleive that that would ever happen here ???
Also, I still think that you can't really stop maltese bummers from going on your charters just to find new spots.
with regards to the big fish, well a grouper in proportion its head is massive. Sea hunter i am not trying to talk out of fanatsy, but out of what i discovered and speaking to CHEFS AT restaurants, hotels.....
but why not try... regardless of the project... its just an idea....
the equals sign has an assumption and is very imaginative that it looks like wonderland i know, but
think about it, without an equal sign and combine it to scuba diving charters..... does it make sense? Maybe it needs some tweaking in malta but something has changed, definately
Sea hunter i am studying models about this type of commerce for ages now, it is a concept idea for sure in europe....
but think about transmitting that hapiness you have when you catch a nice sized fish for the very first time... you remember catching the grorper 4 sure, how much you probably screamed, posed for photos :D ;). With a good model and proper laws its possible ;). You aint need any advertising in malta, maltese can come but it would be absurd if you take them to a hot spot..... many charters abroad do that.... they take you to a good spot, but not their gold mine ;)
sea hunter, it would take time but how do you think other EU states managed, well trying and failing...... till they succeded
WE MALTESE, WE ARE ALWAYS AFRAID OF CHANGE... BUT NO ONE CAN RESIST CHANGE!!!
And many of us who go spearfishing care, i ain't earning a living from spearfishing seahunter, but this is an idea that someone can earn a living from spearfishing while being sustainable. Fishing charters exist, and in other countries they are sustainable. why not in malta?
With regards to maltese bummers, well the price would be enough to ward them off. such charters obviously can't be organised during weekends, but ratherly during work days ;)
AIN'T THAT A FUTURISTIC VIEW OF FISHING?? sustainable, nature friendly and most of a single kg of fish generates more wealth..... Search through the forum, see the conservation debates around the forum... all blaming over fishing... over fishing occours because
Of the maltese culture(some are hell of greedy as*****s)
the fish fetches a low price
futuristic and imaginative.... but that is change... change is not the imitation of other's policies.. but the setting of YOUR OWN POLICIES, ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS
I will have to interevene here and also comment on this issue, since that it also interpells me in the scene....
I have immediately read this post, but decided not to comment, and let others do, and see what comes out.
To tell you all, I would have never tought that any posisive comments can be obtained from us spearos.
What I always say, (although being my opinion), I am assuming that nearly all the spearos would thing that this is a bad idea,....................... a good idea would be, if the spearos diminish in number and not increase, and when I say this I mean,.............. not us reducing the numbers, but I sometimes hope that people give up catching nothing, and since this is not their '''proper''' hobby, and they give up. An example are the many hunters who turned to spearing/fishing (Some may not agree, but that is true facts, I can count the ones I know). I know what happened to hunting, and this was also due to the many ones abusing, and so are they doing to our waters now, and this fact really terrifies me. I know how carefull I am with our seas.
I am not being egoistic, but Malta has a limited amount of shore, and the more fishing the bigger the problem. An example is driving to work in the morning at 7am, you know the amount of traffic ??? ??? and that is because our size limits us.
Another opposing factor are the diving schools. They are the law.... They do the laws here. Do you know that when I was searching in regards of marine protected areas, many of the authorities directed me to phone 'Maltaqua' for more information. ??? ??? What ??? Do you think this new concept would be a benefit for us, or would we make more damage to ourselves????????????????????
One other thing... Do you think that if you are making money out of it, you would give a s... about secret places???? No way, people want more fish, you would want more money, and therefore :'(
And what about me, and my day off work..... and my beloved hobby??.... I find a couple of ribs on the jetty, or on a beautiful ridge or reef, full by another 20 people.???
Granitu, You are very good in your english, and hope that you understood my poor literature, and my really my deep emotions without anything against you,as a person, but sometimes I ask myself...........Is he really a spearo? And then I try to search for some pics of you and I find none...
So what are your intentions really??? and do these intentions go in line with your opinions of marine protection or not??
baghira i choose not to upload pics for a very specific reason... i spearfish for my joy nor for money nor for anything
thanks for your feedback baghira, it is very important to us. this is just a school assignment, and i already stated that if it was to choose for me, i would prefer a location outside malta for sure, and the reason is obvious, our size, and that is a factor we are taking in account
so you want a pic out of the many i got,
i will upload one and you wil say.. he's a spearo.. but will remove it after a day or two cause i ain't need to prove anything to anyone baghira... and you never saw my facebook either....
and most of the time i am diving by myself, it is hard to find buddies with the present schedule i have.. and in these times well pool training, static apnea and yoga all the way
and to date, still attend the yoga classes you organized for spearfishing reasons, remember? that enough shows how much i'm in spearfishing. How can you judge baghira??? did i ever judge anyone of you ??? ;)
needless to say i was very controvert and light hearted in my statements but it needed to be cause that way i could really raise the real believes from you.. and managed to.. just look at the amount of interest i amnaged to generate....
regards with greedness, well, i ain't a greedy person and don't want to be. i do believe in sustainable fishing guys, and practice it. you will notice it in my catches, you won't see small fish. Not everyone who earns a living is greedy guys.... that is a wrong percption... i mentioned bag limits guys.. that is inexistent to malta today.. but countries like croatia do have them
and the scuba centres that they are managing the law, well those people will someday kill our hobby in malta...they are managing change the way they like and want.. and finding neglible resistance to it...
the government works this way...
tax reveue+jobs= favours for you as a company... and it exists everywhere.. i won't mention shops, but many of our diving shops in malta in some way are related to scuba diving charters, spearfishing is just a diversification of product they offer, but it is not their main area of trade, with the exception of aqu*****a
the intention... this is just a university assignment, i considered the hypothetical situation of setting this type of tourism in malta, but it really does not seem the case because there is too many resistance from the locals..
i understand your point baghira, it is very right, after a hard week of work you expect that youu can enjoy the sea.. but see emic's post he raised another point,
equally valid and important... the scuba spearfisherman... 2 date still exist.. and raising a nice catch public is not exactly the right thing with these guys.... but do you know hom many accounts exist on this forum? how many people just watch and observe? And our geographical size... well it says it all
last time i was spearfishing(2 weeks ago) i was going for my car and since had a very nice catch in hand(couldn't fit it in the diving bag), a hunter(nothing against hunting/hunters but i was spearfishing near a popular hunting spot and since it was sunset....) stopped me to see it and then just to then tell me all relaxed that he spearfishes with cylinders in summer and recommended me to sell it...... well personally, we cooked it with all my family and it turned out to be delicious(10x ken for the recipie ;) )
The pics we post here is to generate enthusiasm in our forum.
We also fish for fun, I will upload a pic when I get it of our fishing days.
Last fri we were with two ribs 7 persons in all. Do you beleive we go to be greedy and catch loads, nope just the fun, and sharing of our hobby.
God you still attend yoga classes. I am sure 100% that they help a lot, and would love to attend, but my schedule, including part time jobs and hobbies doeas not allow me. Yoga is needed, for sure to be professional, beside other things.
I would do, and give my help, in order to safeguard my beloved hobby.
Just tell me how!!
all we need is that the spearfishing community starts generating more funds baghira... that formula is how things work
look at italy. there are few restrictions on apnea, it is part of the economy there is investment, research and development....
we can't compare them to us but we have to find niche markets..... and the italian market if properly advertised can be one...
baghira, i let my other team member to disclose this on the forum due to some feedback obtained from foreigners.... you don't imagine how many english, welsh,french,italians,greeks visited malta, liked it but what did they complain about?? we couldn't go spearfishing..... and many who would like to visit malta to spearfish lampuki, for example... in america they are spearfished.... and lampuki is not a fish that fetches a high price...
there is a niche market for this in malta. it is an idea, free, anyone can use it... but if directed the right way and by the right people, it is a new thing to spearfisherman, and since we are in EU, legally, it can't go against maltese.
IT WILL SURELY GO AGAIINST ILLEGAL FISHING, THAT'S FOR SURE... Do you expect the gov to amend the laws and invest money in enforcing the law cause a family man enjoys spearfishing as a hobby? The law is changed for money
there could be so many other more brilliant, better ideas but this is the one i have come up with for now...
I'm still sceptic about it Granitu... but good luck with this experiment, maybe I am wrong after all...
well said Granitu ;)
Ok, you are 100% right that there isn't anyone licensed on the island that does this, but don't just think about the opportunities.
This is my input:
1) What is the Initial investment that your company is willing to make? Lets say you have a group of 8
2) You have to consider the ROI (Return on investment), in this case you have to make a large profit margins to make it worth the wear and tear of sea equipment and rental expenses.
3)If your going for lampuki in Malta, you have to go far out for the big ones and you have to wait for this time of the year as aAmerican spearfishermen are not into 1 kg lampuki. You might try for Tuna and Sword fish.......... Surely you wont need a conventional harpoon setup but a multiband (6-8x 14mm)one which will get a lot of distance.
4) You have to be gifted enough to know the areas where these fish occur..... this you will get by trial and error. I suggest you try out the sport first and see if you get any results. If you do, go ahead.
I remember doing this entrepreneurship course and our idea was an animal cemetery. We managed to do quite well, but its not a business venture which I ever think I'll follow in my life :p
Good luck with your presentation!
@ Baghira
Hope i got it wrong...so im not a fisherman if i don't post pics of the fish i catch?? ??? I don't think such a judgement is fair.
And regards granity, I assure you that he is a spearo... much more than any others on this forum!!!
10x for the contribution markcam... it is a really healthy contribution. nice idea you had.. but surely it would have been the ordinary of the day seeing people crying.... :-\
financially speaking the investment is something that we considered and to be honest... we came up with a needed intitial investment of 100,000 euros but the ficticious firm will still entail fishing charters.... will the industry present a return on investent?
it is a concept idea, risky, needs a lot of aggresive advertising and a lot of good business relations
so we will have a 29ft boat for fishing charters
2 18ft dingies powered by 90hp motors
spearfishing charters are an additional service it offers. With regards to blue water spearfishing for tuna, haven't tried it yet but for lampuki on cimi, i have tried and managed to catch. maybe there is no quality mark, but surely there is quantity here ;D.. and by october from the cimi i did catch 3-4kgs examples- caught 5 in all.. ranging from 2-4 kgs. lampuki is a fast growing fish, and grows faster than we imagine
the setup for big game is different, if i ever have to rig up, i would be more inclined to roller guns which is a setup in development.. blue water spearfishing needs a very good equalising technique(you need to be more an apneist rather than a spearfisherman in my opinion- the most frequent technique used is caduta), investment on computers(nemo apneist + heart band), (depth reminders- with descent, pressure relaxes our nerves, there is no reference to the bottom and there is the competitive edge), well variable weights, extra belt reels, a boat man(essential for this type of fishing) and others...
that day i could remember, there was loads of tuna around... needless to say i didn't even bother following them, it is illegal... but it is harder for tuna... they are quite shy as a fish and it is harder than it seems on youtube- that's why i am saying equalisation is important, the descent at times has to be forced, it is not always a caduta
needless to say, the law has to change if the idea has to have any chance of success. obviously has to change in favour of ethical spearfishing (bag limits)... i would expect that if i tried, and succeded, many diving shops will start offering the service for sure.
so what really is another block in my opinion is the ability that the maltese market becomes easily saturated... take for instance the cheese cakes retailers, every corner today there's one.... who ever has a space, open a cheese cakes shop...
It's in culture in malta, we are not innovative people, we just follow
and ganni, 10x for the defence, you know me better than anyone else here :D :)
Granitu I understand your enthusiasm, but I'm still sceptical that you will actually make a profit from this business. The costs are too high and this will reflect in the price. For example, If I'm going to pay lets say 2000 euros for a fishing trip, will I choose Malta or another tropical country? As you know it is more abundant.
If you do it well, you might make a profit, but for sure I'm not going to see you a millionare :p
Once I manged to spearfish for lampuki, it was one of the best experiences in my life! If we ever meet up I'll tell you all about it. The biggest regret was that I was still a beginer and a 90 cm gun.
I think it will be a good idea that someone start some thing on blue water fishing, not that big like investing on 3 boats but 1 fast boat that can handle 5 people. Cannot have big groups cos its too risky. Lampuki are very nice and even till this time of the year one can find. This year I fished in open water and its really nice when you have that good visibility and pelagic fish passing by.
10x for the feedback emic.
yes so true mark, i really had fun the first tim i tried it out and to be honest, the fisrt time was unplanned, lampuki just wasn't biting, had all the equipment with me since in the morning was spearfishing on a reef.. and caught some but i was by myself didn't risk since it was something new
the technique i used in particular was the middle water aspetto, lampuki is not a hard fish.
the second time i tried it out i was well rigged and did more depth(up to 37m) and in this instance i encountered sholas of tuna, didn't bother following or shooting but what an immense exprience. lampuki was not so abundant, but of a bigger size
for tuna a friend of mine told me that i had on boat someone had to chum out some pieces of fish to succed.. but even though, aspetto and agguato still remain the technique i like most, maybe to present fish of those dimensiion is difficult but still they are a challenge
cost of charters were going to be cheaper than that mark, not more than 1000 euros... but your consideration is right mark.. you ain't get rich with this opportunity, well to get rich, i will be working in accounts.. like robby u gazzetta... hemm nsiru sinjuri hux guys
@ gianni we post pictures of our catches because this is supposed to be a forum of friends that like to see some nice fish caught in our sea. if you come to one of the events/drinks than you will know some people personally and will know them better not just from their posts they write. there are a lot of people in the forum that they dont write a post or put a photo although they catch nice fish maybe that is why there weren t many new photos during these last months because those who used to put photos regularly have noticed this also.
but is it gd to judge or accuse someone that he isn't a spearo just because he doesn't put any photos without even knowing him??
dw gann don't bother ;) anqas haqq hafna argumenti nhallu l kulhadd bl opinjoni li jrid... min jafni sewwa jaf sewwa x jien ;D :D ;)
@ gianni no it is not good to judge someone on anything not only if he is a spearo or no. what i was referring to was the part about the photos
ok busu capixx.. imma ommi tghidli int bniedem starmb.... x taghmel u ma nhobbx nithallat hafna jien qlajt pandimonju lol chill out guys ejja.. ara tlaqt al ftit yoga anqas nirrabja ma naf sirt lol
translate plz iddejaqt bl ingliz
Quote from: ganni on December 03, 2009, 23:21:59 CET
I don't think such a judgement is fair.
yes busu, and in fact i mentioned the point in the view of what was being said by baghira, he was judging from the absence of photos ;)
@ gianni so now everything is cleared. i hope that on the 28 dec we see you and granitu at zeta bar
cleared then ;D
99% im commin however im not confirming yet since its a bit too far and sometimes things crop up. last year i enjoyed it so ill do my best to come.
Hi guys. (@ganni and granitu)
I am one of the most cheerful guys in this world, and I do not judge guys!!!
I just question, to understand better those members that either never show their faces, or never show their catches. There has to be a reason being whatsoever.
It is a very common practice for members of this forum as many times skip said, that people just log in and read, but never make their part to help our community have a better understanding of what is happening. So I have to admit that its really a pitty that a person never posts, or never gets involved, or posts a couple of pics and deletes them in minutes even if they weren't any special catch. I will never delete any of my pics, even if some of them aint anything special. I will assume responsibility for any that might be posted eroneously. Some of you members can only be heard commenting, and the subject usually turns into an argue........ >:(
I am telling you also this because some members, as me, have your mother's same opinion. ;) But everyone has his own way to communicate, and I accept this, but come on, here we are friends.
We are not like any other community/clubs that never have a laugh, or look at each other with envy. Altghou I am convinced that some of them are reading what I am writing ;) When I go fishing, I invite anyone with me on my rib, and whoever wants joins in, anyone who knows me can confirm.
So cheer up guys.
By that way your idea of bluewater spearfishing sounds a little bit interesting than the previous.
Anyway guys, i just wanted to say mine, and I say it straight as always. If anyone of you needs any help, I am always ready to give a helping hand, and people know me, and know that you can rely on me.
no problem baghira, i am what i am... as a person , it is not that i don't like to be involved, but i am a little shy in character... so it explains it all. and for spearfishing, even if not recommended, i like diving a lot by myself at times(gennata, naf), with buddies i go but end up worrying that something happens to them
But i thing you are confusing persons baghira, i don't argue everytime i post, every now and then yes, but always was very civil and fair... sometimes i was misunderstood like with seahunter, i remember when i compared to hunters i meant something and it came out the opposing way. and it was my mistake, and apologised(dawk jissarfu ghand tal quicksave :P). and the instance i gave was true(the place i was and the time-open hunting season, well you always see hunters there)
most of scuba spearfishers are people who can't do it to catch a fish in apnea...
But when people asked in personal message for help on certain things, i always tried to help out how i know. it is not seen but that's life. and if i start, i don't finish, but last i recounted had something like 250 personal messages, many of which were tips to people(where and what to buy, how to rig, ect).
Some couldn't keep the promise yet due to scolastic reasons(this refers to clutch_kick, haven't forgotten you ta)
the last additions are kffarr and divinu which i will enjoy some fishing time with them and show them all i know about the fishing they want, even if it is something i am not practising much because of spearfishing...but will find a timeslot.
So i think about the arguing baghira, you are very unfair, but it is your opinion, just because i don't show(and i am a shy person and hate being under the spotlight- i hate this very moment for instance, but had to needed to get the contribution) doesn't mean it is like that....
with aruguing on this post, well i was always very civil, told the truth how it is, didn't keep any secret plans or anything, just how my motivations are. but just like you i am straight and to the point on the subject, and feeln a lot teh deprived seas we have... it hurts alot seing 90's underwater videos and compare them to today. surely i wrote long essays hux gazetta :P
i didn't post in the beginning myself because i knew that it would turn out this way. and the presentation teamate knew all about my opinion on how it would turn out. I believe in civil argument, didn't quite enjoy it when it turned out a little personal but i was not concerned at all. and have nothing against you what so ever, if it is your opinion, fine i accept it ;D
for the pics, it is the way i feel. i enjoy helping beginners out, but my stories i share them with the people really close 2 me, save for an exception today, (min hu jaf :P). and for photos, not that i like a lot cameras, it is not the first time i had a very nice catch and did not even dare taking a photo, or i don't know where the camera is, but diving 4-5 times a week each summer, yields some results.
i never shared a lot of photos and to be honest i don't have alot of photos, had a lot of moments i would have liked to capture but for sometime i was praying san frangisk to find it for me and after 2 months of part time praying... i found it... the last addition was my headlamp for night fishing, and again 1 month lost(tiftakru fortuna u robby niddoba :P), san frangisk proved to work, but this time it was my father who found it for me.
last reminder, even if it went a little out of subject(sorry skip-qicksave 1pt :P), thanks all of you who in a way gave a contribution and devoted some time to answer this post. IT is very important to us, and your opinions especially markcam, seahunter and baghira's, emic, skip, freediver, robby, benri, gazzetta(int u robby; mur studja :P, mhux tahli l hin mieghi msn :P) contributions
THANK YOU ALL AND HAPPY FEASTS
fortunately the memory was something i was quite gifted with, i have a photogenic memory and the moments will remain with me. but you are right on it, still have good ones in photos i did this year, not comparable to those i posted, but whoever saw them liked them... bdw im 20yrs old.. must be nice having 30yrs of experience, surely you remember the good old days, well i don't for sure :P
for the marspan catches, that was a catch i did from 8 hrs diving, in search for the king of our seas that stayed away from shooting range that day.. well wanted to eat some fresh fish (2 weeks spearfishing everyday and what i was diving for what taking a nice laugh on me), there was no sargi of good size around(i don't shoot on small ones(smaller than 700grams), prefer catching few or aything then catching small ones) and they were available and in a very large amount, took what i needed(family of 6 + nanna at hospital-just adores them)
on the way managed a sawrella too. and i took good care to take nice but not the biggest examples(sexually surely mature) and even the colour, since they are males and females, the brown ones(shoals of 70-80 each time, never saw all this quantity) were all around, the red ones very few, so i was selective and took only brown ones, i could have been maybe more selective on certain ones, but in some depth they seem bigger. and mostly, i didn't use tana techniques(never use), just aspetto and agguato
kind regards,
Nicholas
The business game on its making . Guys this will finish on Sunday or Monday so Silvio do not take it personal it is just a points generating exercise.
Toqodx tinkwieta Sil.
Adrian 08 Graduate Hons.
le ma hadtx ghalija... he he helwin u jien l iktar niehu gost nihdilhom r ritratti... gili jkolli aptit nghollijhom meta tkun lest ha tispara u jigi xi wiehed jiddefes.. imma meta jkun hemm il kings iwarrbu u jaqbillom u... photogenici ta... tad dar imma jhobbuwhom wisq il forn... allura ma naqtalomx xewqitom nibghata tixtri 4 kilos mingahnd xi wiehed qabadhom bil parit?
ha nghidlek jibdluwhom ma sargu... ghax jghidulek dawn nodfa zgur perez li s sargi jhobb ftit d drenagg u dak t tip ta hut imut f bahar mahmug. jien personali tini xi denci, mengus, acciola, sargu jw cerna mela dawk... imma :-\
jien nghajjarhom bla gosti u ma jtomux :D
le dik spiccajna ta :P u proud li we came first, whatever i do i do it with passion.
dan ta enterpreneurship guys :P.. crafting new business opportunities
but i really considered it with the large feedback from some foreigners, in particular italians. it is just unimaginable, we told them it is an assigment and everything, but they were asking for dates, prices, bookings, techniques... all charateristics that show that there is a demand but no supply... and we boast about tourism being a man trading area, but not meeting all the needs of our tourists.
a forum even offered advertsing for free... unimaginable
granitu jien nifhmek my friend hafna ghax ukoll inhobb ninqata u nitlaq wahdi kull tant zmien.
Imma my friend the fishing and spearo community needs to be united at sometimes.
u taqtax qalbek .... jekk ghandek xi hsieb tibda xi haga fuq spearfishing charters hares il quddiem u ahseb il barra mill kaxxa my friend.
if the thing can be done then you can do it!
that was the thinking, being unordinary and i managed to be honest and will fine tune the strategy thanks to your contributions.
Will think about your kind words nelson, and will consider your tip. probably you are right about uniting sometimes
anyways, off to yoga guys
namaste
nicholas :P
Kemm tghid granit..........: ;D
But we did not offend each other, it was just some comments so that people know each other better.
No hard feelings at the end.
As regrads the pics. Granit, I know that some people got offended when you commented on their pics, and they all said that you never show yours. A sea bream of les then 700g, if still within legal size, maybe a nice catch for others. That's why I commented.
As regards the charters. I pointed out my opinion, and others pointed out theirs. Its up to you to decide finally... But be sure to make the right calculations, and right decisions, and expert advices taken by someone professional in spearfishing, cause this ain't nothing like fishing charters, in a way.
Hope to se you soon, pitty it will not be the next meeting for me.
hey guys, please do not over react to this thread. We are simply gathering different opinions whatever they are. We accept all views but please try to understand that althought this might be an assignment we are trying to think differently. Remember ppl that if everyone were to think in the same way, nothing will ever change or get done.
cheers :p
whoever got offended with my comments on pics, well it was just an opinion. and again sorry, even if i don't need to.... freedive yesterday critised my photo, i accept it i knew i was right, know very well that i treat sea with utmost respect and take away what i eat.
i hate participating, but when it comes about the sea, i lose all the shyness and do express what i feel. no hard feelings against anyone, and there were photos i could comment but refrained to silvio. and so many others i told them well done.
i criticised few, one of nemo and remember it. loads of sargi and some in my opinion were not of a good size. but it was an opinion. i am one who hates tana techniques, they are proven to be invasive, it is an old bad culture of spearfishing originated in the good old days of sea... we don't live in that era anymore
It is an opinion guys, if you are offended, screw me do anything you like, it is just an opinion. do not take me too seriously. and it must have been ages ago baghira, not that i was quite active in the forum lately(not this week omg).
and one last thing, from jan to may i was on the dry guys due to a doctor's order, just training at national pool complex and static apnea, after my traffic accident in december... still uploaded pics, not diving(I don't upload those,true) but you seem to have forgot silvio. o well, that's till you see my face lol.
If i am available i may attend but still a long way to go till the 28th guys, shame i will not be seeing you, needless to say you are a nice chap to hang around in these activities, very outgoing guy ;D
HAPPY FEASTS MELA SILVIO TO YOU AND ALL YOUR FAMILY :)
xorta patpat hafna ma jirnexxilix meta nkun hekk fuq xi haga ghal qalbi.. can't help it
Same to you all buddies.
Hi there, I am resident in malta now, would like to know if I can join a club , or if someone is offering lesson here. I don't know the water here...
best