Spearfishing with barbed poles (harpoons) was widespread in palaeolithic times. Cosquer Cave in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, including drawings of seals which appear to have been harpooned.

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Spear fishing is an ancient method of fishing and may be conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as an eel spear or the trident. A small trident-type spear with a

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Traditional spear fishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the development of the speargun, diving mask and swimfins allows fishing in deeper

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This is a list of equipment commonly used in spearfishing. Not all of it is necessary and spearfishing is often practised with minimal gear.

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Spearfishing is intensively managed throughout the world.
Australia allows only recreational spearfishing and generally only breath-hold free diving. State & territory governments impose numerous restrictions, demarcating

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This is an alphabetic list of spearfishers who are confirmed by a reliable source or an existing Wikipedia article.
• Rob Allen - South Africa
• Tommy Botha - South Africa
• Peter Crawford - England, 13 times UK champion

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• Underwater target shooting – Breathhold underwater sport of target shooting with a speargun in a swimming pool.
• Gaffing
• Bowfishing

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