A Papua New Guinean spear fisherman loading a rifle-style spear gun at the surface. These spear guns are normally hand carved wooden stocks with rubber slings that fire a thin metal rod that has been hand sharpened.


A Papua New Guinean spear fisherman pausing on the bottom while searching for nearby fish. Spear fishers in PNG tend not to use snorkels, as they believe air bubbles will frighten away prey fishes. To increase his chances of success, he will have to approach to within three metres of his targeted fish.


A successfully speared medium sized Oriental Sweetlips Plectorhinchus orientalis. This is towards the upper end of the size range of fishes typically targeted by Papua New Guinean spear fishers.

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