Sarasota man dies after spearfishing accident

Major bummer. The one guys got a spear through his brain stem and the other guy has to live with having let it happen.

One has to wonder how this kind of thing could happen. But then I look back at some of the other incidents in my life and understand completely. It's insane how just a few seconds or inches can change the fate of a man. Diving alone in some ways seems safer... :crazy::nono::crazy:

Not casting judgment on anyone by any means since I wasn't there, but I always stress muzzle awareness with whoever I am diving with, just like it is a firearm. I have witnessed a handful of people accidentally shoot themselves or others with firearms by not using simple proper muzzle awareness and handling, and to me the principle is no different with a speargun.

A couple years ago I took a dive buddy out, and he was a little bit below and behind me, as we were both on the way up. I heard a click and saw a spear shoot right between my thighs, fortunately it didn't get me but it was only inches away from a possibly lethal femoral artery hit. He said he didn't know what happened, but if he had only had his muzzle pointed down nothing would have been a problem. I ripped him up one side and down the other, and I am extra cautious of muzzle awareness now and who I am diving with. Sounds kinda like the same thing here, sure hope he pulls through.

Quote from Sames

Not casting judgment on anyone by any means since I wasn't there, but I always stress muzzle awareness with whoever I am diving with, just like it is a firearm. I have witnessed a handful of people accidentally shoot themselves or others with firearms by not using simple proper muzzle awareness and handling, and to me the principle is no different with a speargun.

A couple years ago I took a dive buddy out, and he was a little bit below and behind me, as we were both on the way up. I heard a click and saw a spear shoot right between my thighs, fortunately it didn't get me but it was only inches away from a possibly lethal femoral artery hit. He said he didn't know what happened, but if he had only had his muzzle pointed down nothing would have been a problem. I ripped him up one side and down the other, and I am extra cautious of muzzle awareness now and who I am diving with. Sounds kinda like the same thing here, sure hope he pulls through.

Damn, never had anything like that happen. That's wild, I bet your blood was pumping.
Things like that are why on the one hand it's nice to dive with new people and to help newer divers learn the ropes but on the other hand it can be frustrating. Makes me feel lucky there were people out there with more patience than me when I was getting started.

Bummer.
I stress muzzle awareness to Mo all the time. My dad taught me how to handle a shotgun when I was young (he was Army WW2)
But last Sunday I saw Mo surfacing with the flopper of his loaded gun hanging off his index finger. The shaft was pointing towards his chin. If the trigger had caught on a piece of coral and fired the gun.....

And the frustrating thing is when you try to explain the danger of that to a 13 year old, they just look at you like you don't know what you're talking about and act pissed off. grrrrrrrrr

I just read on their local media channel that Jarrod was taken off life support yesterday and died.

So frustrating and sad because this was 100% preventable.

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danger of that to a 13 year old

spearfishing under 16 years old is not allowed in many countries like france, spain , italy, greece...

Very sad, my heart goes out to the family.

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In the statement, the man’s family called for stricter safety measures, including appropriate regulations for the use of spear guns.

This however takes my mind off the sadness. The reaction is understandable and I was anticipating it. It's normal in times of tragedy to lay blame elsewhere to alleviate the pain of guilt. But at 21 years old the onus was on him and his friend to be safe while engaged in an activity that is inherently risky, even if there were no spearguns involved.

I've done my part to bring the speargun safety issue to light. Just google speargun or spearfishing accidents and this will be your first result http://spearfishing.world/spea…here-you-point-thing.html. Some of you didn't like that graphic thread but it's a necessary evil. This incident is the worst addition yet.

I wonder if he drowned before his friend brought him to the surface.

I wonder what brand speargun it was, and whether it was a trigger malfunction or if the trigger was pressed accidentally. My gut feeling is that the trigger was pressed accidentally. In any case I wouldn't want to be the manufacturer of that speargun right now.

I doubt they will release make and model, however I'm sure manufacturer will be contacted and go over that gun very carefully. I say this because every speargun I've bought has had plenty of warnings releasing liability of the company in any situation where the gun is "improperly used" or tampered with. Included with the proper usage directives is to never point at someone. So they kinda cover all their bases. Still a very tragic event that was 100% preventable ...

And my friends used to call me a boat nazi every time I'd point out a safety issue.. Generally guys don't like to be criticized/told what to do, and express their irritation. It's enough to make most people keep their mouth shut, which works exactly against increasing awareness of potential dangers. But to me the risk was a stronger impetus than being considered a nag, so I'd bitch even about something like beer caps lying upside down on the boat deck. "I told you" just doesn't seem to be rewarding any more.

Dan, I agree with your approach. This is not only depressing but annoying for me!! I taught my son to dive and spearfish and stress on every dive the importance of muzzle direction. His friend to whom I've also brought the joys of spear fishing gets the same briefing when we all dive together. First rule - safety ON when loading and loaded; Second rule - finger on trigger only when you are ready to shoot!!! Third rule - only shoot when you have a clear view of the fish and beyond!!!

I hope we all take this as a wake up call to draw attention to others who may not be as focused on what they are doing during dives. Let's all be safe and not add to stories like this...... Truly a sad day for our sport...

So sad, horrible really.
Seeing lots of posts popping up on the net calling for the banning of spearfishing in Florida over this incident.

George, can you post a link to one or two please.

It's asinine for them to go after spearfishing, this being the first speargun related death I heard of. You'll never see them try to shut down fishing which is considered the deadliest vocation in the US Fishing deaths mount, but government slow to cast safety net for deadliest industry

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Commercial fishing is the deadliest vocation in the United States. Four years running, from 2007 to 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the most dangerous occupation in the United States. From 2000 to 2010, the industry’s death rate was 31 times greater than the national workplace average.

I wasn't active fighting proposed closures but I will march in the street over this.

Sad new though.

Hank: When one of my kids don't obbey my commands, I just take them out of the water. Period. They know the rules. If they go out with me, they do what I say. No discussion.

Virgili: Do you think a 16 year old is different from a 13? I do. I think the 16 is worst. They are full of shit and testosterone. I have two kids and they are 13 and 16. I know what I'm talikng about

Clavos: Worst "safety rule" you can have is to rely on a speargun safety. First modification I do to all my spearguns is taking it off. It won't prevent the gun to missfire. It will only prevent you to shoot the fish of your lifetime by be engaged when it shows up.

The only safety rule you can have is not to point a speargun to no one. Even if unloaded.

This being said, my condolences to the family.