A Fish for Everyone

Submitted by: Samantha Johnson

The aspect of diving and spear fishing I love the most is that every dive, no matter the condition and regardless of what you do or don't shoot, is a journey to another world and back. You visit unbelievable landscapes and find unimaginable creatures. If you're blessed, you get to bring home dinner for the ones you love.

I learned to spearfish on the Big Island of Hawaii with a 3-prong, local style. At first I was apprehensive about what fish to shoot and would just swim with the 3-prong watching all the fish zoom past and around me. Then one day, a little mamo found it's way onto my 3 prong. Once the seal was broken I started shooting all species of fish. I felt so free, focused, excited and calm all at once. After each dive, with a stringer full of fish, we would stop throughout the neighborhood and give the fish away. Aweoweos for Uncle Paul, yellow eyed kole for Auntie Juli, menpachis for the Lani's, fresh tako for Kai's first baby party, and spiny lobsters for our parents.

Spearos get so caught up with shooting game fish and recording depths they forget what a privilege it is to even be able to go spearfishing. Most members of the community don't have the resources or health to gather food the way we do, and it's something that should be shared. A fish you might think is not Instagram worthy could be someone's coveted meal for the day. As a person who is willing and able to provide food from the ocean, it's important to remember to help others. Journeying to another world and back is hard, rewarding work and bringing back a nice catch to share with others is what it's all about.