Bahamas spearfishing regulations

For those interested in spearing in the Bahamas; I had some questions on a related issue and ended up finding this information which may come in handy as the Bahamian rules are not crystal clear.

Links to official Bahamian government website:
https://forms.bahamas.gov.bs/dp_form.asp?fid=258
http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/sub…bsidiary_CHAPTER_244.html

Some pertinent quotes:

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"Hawaiian sling" means a device made of wood, or other suitable material, designed for the discharge of a missile under water by the force of a sling of rubber;
"prohibited apparatus" means-
(a) a device, other than a schnorkel, designed to enable a person to breathe whilst under water;
(b) a device, other than an Hawaiian sling, designed to discharge a missile under water;

"schnorkel" means a tube enabling a person whose face is beneath the surface of the water to breathe the air directly from the atmosphere and not assisted by a compressor;

"spearfishing apparatus" means any of the following articles used in the activity commonly known as "spearfishing"-
(a) a spear;
(b) an Hawaiian sling;
(c) a schnorkel;
(d) an underwater mask;
(e) underwater goggles;
(f) swim fins.

"take" means catch, capture or remove from the water;

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4.Use of firearms prohibited.
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), no person shall use a firearm to fish within the exclusive fishery zone.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who uses-
(a) a firearm for scientific or research purposes with the written permission of the Minister;
(b) a firearm (commonly known as a "bang stick") for self defence against sharks and other marine predators.

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6. Spearfishing apparatus in certain areas prohibited.
No person shall use any spearfishing apparatus to fish-
(a) within one mile of the coast at low water mark of New Providence; or
(b) within one mile of the southern coast at low water mark of Freeport, Grand Bahama; or
(c) within two hundred yards of the coast at low water mark of any other Family Island.

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9. Spearfishing tournament etc. prohibited.
No person shall organize or engage in a spearfishing tournament or competition within the exclusive fishery zone.

There's a lot of other information to read through.

Here's a quote from another albeit less reliable source http://www.bahamas-travel.info…g/fishing_regulations.htm

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Permits are obtained from Customs officials at ports of entry. Fishing gear is restricted to hook and line and you may not fish with more than six rods at a time. No vessel shall have on board any fish unless its head and tail is intact. Bag limits are as follows:Lobster or Crawfish: Six tails per vessel, at any time. Annual closed season is April 1 to July 31. Minimum size limits are 3-3/8 inch carapace length or six inches tail length. Egg-bearing female crawfish are protected.
Conch: The Queen Conch (conch) is considered an endangered species throughout much of the wider Caribbean, including The Bahamas. In an effort to ensure the continued sustainability of local conch stocks, the harvesting of the species by foreign boaters is prohibited.
Wahoo/Dolphin/Kingfish: Six fish per vessel, any combination.
Vessel Bag Limit: 20 pounds of scalefish, 10 conch and six crawfish per vessel may be exported from The Islands Of The Bahamas.
Stone Crabs: Closed season is June 1 to October 15. Minimum harvestable claw is four inches. Harvesting of females is prohibited.
Turtle: Illegal to catch or have on board; although legal to eat in The Islands Of The Bahamas.
Spearfishing: Hawaiian sling is the only approved spearfishing device. Use of scuba gear or an air compressor to harvest fish, conch, crawfish and other marine animals is prohibited. Spearfishing is not allowed within one mile off the coast of New Providence, within one mile off the south coast of Freeport, Grand Bahama and within 200 yards of the coast of all Out Islands. Spearing or taking marine animals by any means is prohibited within national sea parks.

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From the above it would appear that:
1. You can't spear with a pole spear since it's not a sling.
2. You can't use scuba.

An interesting paragraph from the the same site as the first post.

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73. Compressors.
A person desirous of using during the period 1st August to 31st March a prohibited apparatus that is commonly known as an air compressor at a depth of not less than thirty feet nor more than sixty feet, may make application to the Minister in Form 3 in the First Schedule for a permit authorising such use and upon the issue thereof the prescribed fee shall be payable.

This is the first time I'm hearing about use of compressed air restricted to certain depths. I didn't think it was possible to institute this from a logistic standpoint. Imagine a law that stipulates that you can't possess spearing apparatus with scuba in less than 30fsw. This wouldn't preclude someone from spearing in the upper water column in say 60fsw. Tricky regulation to say the least.

I looked into this in the first place to find Bahamian regulations on fish species the same way we have in the US, such as fish prohibited to spear. I wasn't able to find any. Could it be that as far as species the regulations are the same as line fishing? Is it possible there are no prohibited fish species nor size limits?

I found this on spearbroad in a thread related to Bahamian regs, post dated 05-11-2008.

Quote from westpalmspearo

you can shoot every thing but nassaus when they are out of season even jewfish are open