Spearfishing in Muscat

[Mullins]

Just wondering if anybody here lives in Muscat or knows the area well. My family is doing a trip to Qatar and Oman in December and we'll be in Muscat for a week or so, so we're keen on getting some spearfishing in.

Any information on species, locations and dive operators who are spearo-friendly would be much appreciated. I've heard there are quite a few sailies around the gulf, it'd be great to have a crack at those!

[mishu1984]

direct your attention to this thread:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/showthread.php?t=51828

[anton]

Hi Mullins,
For Oman-see the thread Mishu1984 directed you to. Your best bet for the big stuff is mostly Musandem on the little part of Oman that is located "on" the top of the UAE. In Qatar, almost EVERY local national is spearo friendly, even with scuba and spearing with/without scuba is legal. All dive shops in Qatar are spearo friendly (QDive, Pearl Divers, World Marine, Dolphin Marine, and Sariya Gulf)

The Qataris I know only get fish via male family members using fishing, spearing, and traditional methods and most locals are very spearo friendly. (most Qataris I know can take a line wrapped around a hunk of wood, drop it in the water and pull up a keeper within 3 minutes-no lie!!!!) The local bsac chapters are not spearo friendly, and have at times gotten rather confrontational, threatening, and nasty so stear clear- Some of them will approach and start yelling/swearing/threating/ writing down your license plate # etc and trying to provoke you but it IS LEGAL here.

There is lots of spearing offshore in Qatar for Golden Toothed Trevally (6-12 KG), locally known as "Rabib" , all other trevally , lumped together as "jesh", Cobia "sicken", and King Mackerel or Kingfish "canad". All the above fish are tasty :-) and in abundance right now through about Feb. so you are coming at the right time. Water temps are dropping now to between 24-27 C so you might need a 3mm suit :-)

My dive partner got a big trevally about 12 kilograms an hour and a half ago and was complaining there is no fish :-) UAE/Oman spearing is only better (check with "Nesim" on this board for laws on spearing in Oman)

Drop me a pm is you have any qatar specific questions and I will try and answer.

anton

[Mullins]

Thanks Anton, i was getting mixed messages about the legality of spearing in the gulf. Pity it's outlawed in oman, but there's always the camera I guess. 24-27C will make a nice change from NZ waters, which have just warmed to a balmy 16C.

[mishu1984]

Mullins: you have to bear in mind that in the middle east, just as in latin america, a lot of things are officially outlawed in paper, but not enforced. Alcohol is supposedly outlawed in Kuwait, but every week during the summer we manage to get hammered with vodka..
in the middle east, a big smile and sweet words (yup were the kings of ass-kissing) can take you a long ways.