Interview with Fin and Forage’s Andrew Miller and Charlie Robinton
Today’s episode is with Andrew Miller and Charlie Robinton from Fin and Forage! Spot burning is a highly contentious issue being faced more and more often as the sport of spearfishing grows. Picture this, you’ve spent the past 10 years roaming around your coastline and you’ve found a handful of really productive spots that almost always have good fish and is full of life. You have a friend that is new to spearfishing and is keen to get out to a spot to shoot some good fish, so you decide to take him along with you on your next trip. You both have a great time and shoot some great fish, take a few pictures and go home with some awesome stories. You then see that this friend has posted pictures of these awesome fish with clearly visible landmarks in the background, maybe he mentions the area in the post, or just simply tells his buddy who then tells his buddy, etc. You then go out to your secret spot expecting it to be vibrant and full of life as usual, but as you arrive you see other boats and other spearos already there and the previously full of life reef now has almost nothing left on it. This is what spot burning is, you share your secret spot with someone who then shares it with someone else and so on and in no time your secret gem of a spot is now void of life and you need to go searching again. Listen in for a great chat on this topic that is so close to so many spearos and fishermen alike. The ethics of keeping spots secret, how to find better spots without compromising and pissing off other spearos in the process and how to treat and manage the resource that is the ocean in your local area.
Message from Matt (@cutprofessor): “I found an app called photoroom. You can change the background of any photo in 30 seconds. Very handy.”
What do you think of spot burning? Have you been burnt or have you burnt a spot without realizing? Let us know in the comments or send a us a message if you’d like to stay anonymous!
Important times:
- 00:12 Hello and welcome to the Noob Spearo Podcast!
- 06:05 Welcome Charlie and Andrew from Fine and Forage!
- 07:34 What is “spot burning”?
- 09:26 Some people care about keeping spots secret and some don’t
- 10:48 How much spearfishing is “too much” for an area?
- 12:27 Some species are more vulnerable to spearfishing than others
- 13:46 Noob spearos vs older spearos
- 16:36 The 30-30 agenda and MPA’s
- 19:44 What mistakes do noobs make?
- 21:35 How should you ask people for spots?
- 23:35 Metadata in photos
- 27:54 Physical community vs online community
- 30:59 Knowledge of good spots is a high barrier to entry
- 31:53 Find a local spearfishing shop and build a relationship with them.
- 35:30 Spearfishing is kind of like Pokemon
- 35:49 Do a charter trip
- 37:54 Be mindful of how you portray the spearfishing experience
- 41:37 There’s no licence to be able to dive, no basic skills explicitly required before starting – dangerous situations
- 43:02 Old Man Blue’s message
- 47:41 Good rules to not burn spots
- 50:02 How should you treat photos?
- 52:27 Treat people’s spots as a gift, not a right
- 54:03 Last thoughts and thank you to Charlie and Andrew
- 55:11 Shrek’s final thoughts
Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode
Important Links
- Fin and Forage’s article on Spot Burning
- Andrew on Instagram
- Charlie on Instagram
- Fin and Forage’s Instagram
- Fin and Forage’s website
- PhotoRoom Background remover
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