Inter-Pacific Spearfishing Championships 2022

After three years of no travel and constant disruptions, the New Zealand Spearfishing team travelled to Hiva Oa, in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia (Tahiti), to compete in the Inter-Pacific Spearfishing Championships between the 21st-31st of October.

The men’s team consisted of Jackson Shields, Todd Herbert, David Mullins, and Storm Lequesne. The women’s event typically runs as a pairs event; however, we only had one woman who could attend the event – Alex Edwards from Port Valley Spearfishing Club (Northland), who swam with a safety diver, competing against the Australian and Tahitian women’s pairs.

Graeme Heapy was the manager and kept the team running, producing video reports, and sorting out the team’s catch in the boat each day – a real test of skill given the variety of unfamiliar species and extensive fish lists. The championships consist of a two-day competition, with each day being six hours in the water, where the teams have a specified fish list they must hunt. Our team was best dressed, with a great set of Legasea branded uniforms provided by Barkers menswear. All team members got the latest Suunto D4 dive watches, enabling them to safely monitor depths and recovery times. Spearfishing New Zealand funded much of the costs of the tour. Securing Moite - the best boat skipper - paid off brilliantly with five meals shared with his lovely family and unbeatable assistance on fish ID.

A summary of Alex’s competition days follows:Day One -

Day one of the competition saw us head to Motane Island, about 30km off Hiva Oa. The competition zone was 5km long, so choosing which way to swim was important.
We’d previously spent two days scouting the island, so I had a reasonable feel of the area. After entering the water, we enjoyed up to 20m visibility and 27 degrees water. When the competition started, I decided that since competing by myself accompanied by a safety diver, it would be more critical for me to maximise the number of dives I was doing and minimise time spent swimming. As I watched all pairs take off at a 50/50 split each way, I chose to simply swim out and start diving as I now had the area to myself.

I knew this could be a risk as the reefy area was not a large pressure point, so I knew there was a possibility of not seeing any pelagic fish. However, there was a lot of ground to cover and many fish to shoot, so I got stuck in. Unfortunately, as a result of competition nerves, I struggled to slow my heart rate and relax initially, which resulted in me losing a few fish. Not to let myself get disheartened, I took it one fish at a time and tried to stay relaxed.

Once I had shot most of the basics and other species in the deeper water (not that deep), 14 to 22m, I moved into the shallows. I spent quite some time ensuring that I ticked off species such as Drummer, Sergeant, and Squirrels in the surge. I also managed to pick up a few bonus species before heading back out to about 14m to work a small coral/rocky to sand edge. This decision produced a surprising number of fish, and before I knew it, I was back at the boats, and the 6 hours were up. I finished the day with the most fish and scored 100% for Day 1 in the women’s competition.

Day Two

The zone for Day Two was the waters at Hiva Oa, only a few km from the marina. I started Day two as a new day. However, it was a nervous start as I still hadn’t decided which direction I would swim. Again, we’d spent two days scouting the area, revealing that the diving would be more difficult than the previous day with fewer fish and less visibility.
Day Two started in a rush as I still did not have my gear on when we were given the 5-minute warning before the start. Once I was in the water, we all lined up by the float in a small bay. The competition martial called go, and the teams sprinted off to reach their desired points or areas. I didn’t have much of a plan, so I decided to swim in the direction with the least number of pairs.

The day started slow, and I began to get quite worried as there weren’t too many fish going into the float boat. This worry increased when around 2.5 hours in, I could no longer clear my sinuses past 5 meters. Because of this, I spent some time hunting fish in the shallows before gravitating towards deeper water again in the hope that they would clear. All hope was crushed when I realised I still couldn’t clear them. However, as it was just bearable, I kept diving.

In the last two hours, I shot quite a few more fish than I had at the start of the day. I swam back to the bay and hit the buoy to finish the competition. I ended the day again with the most fish amongst the women, scoring 100% to finish the competition with 200% and was able to bring the trophy home for New Zealand.

The diving in Hiva Oa was some of the best tropical diving I have experienced, with a healthy abundance of fish. I also got to experience multiple Manta ray encounters. My favourite fish throughout the competition was shooting a personal best for both Coronation Trout and Mu.
The men’s team could not beat the local knowledge of the Tahitians, who won both days in their event, but the competition was very close with Australia – they came 2nd on Day One, and we came 2nd on Day Two. Ultimately, our score was 171.18%, and our friends from across the ditch edged ahead with 171.46% - so close that half a kilogram of weight would have pushed us ahead. New Caledonia came in not far behind in fourth place.

Overall, this was a successful mission for the team, rebooting our premier Pacific spearfishing event after three years of disruption and lockdowns.