Spearfishing Etiquette: Not Burning Spots and Respecting the Community

Spearfishing runs on an unwritten code. Most of it is common courtesy, but a lot of it is specific to the sport and not obvious to newer divers. Break the code and you will find yourself frozen out of the community fast. Follow it and you will build the kind of relationships that open doors to better diving, shared knowledge, and the long-term friendships that make this sport worth doing. This guide covers the rules everyone eventually learns — usually the hard way — and why they matter.

What Does It Mean to "Burn a Spot"?

"Burning a spot" is the single biggest sin in spearfishing. It means revealing someone's productive dive location to a wider audience — posting GPS coordinates on Instagram, naming a cove in a YouTube video, dropping the spot in a public Facebook group, or telling divers who have not put in their time. Once a spot is burned, it is never quite the same. Parking lots fill up. Pressure spikes. Fish populations crash or wise up. Spots that took years to find get worked out in a single season.

This is why experienced California divers can seem tight-lipped. They are not gatekeeping for ego — they are protecting the fishery and their own long-term access. Every local has been burned by someone who took a spot and shared it. That memory sticks.

The Core Rules

Never post GPS coordinates. Not on Instagram, not in your dive log that ends up online, not in a forum. Ever. If you caught your personal-best white sea bass yesterday, the world does not need to know exactly where it happened. Say "San Diego" or "Southern California" and leave it at that.

Blur or crop recognizable landmarks. A specific sandstone cliff, a unique rock formation, a pier in the background — these are clues. A determined local can identify a spot from a distinctive rock in a photo. If your hero shot has anything that identifies the location, crop it out before you post.

If someone shows you a spot, it is not yours to share. Not with your dive buddy from Arizona. Not with your work friend who just got into diving. Not on a public video. If the person who showed it to you wants it public, they will make it public themselves. Your job is to keep your mouth shut.

Do not crowd other divers. If you arrive and find someone already set up at a spot, move on. Pick another area. A mile up or down the coast is almost always fine. Dropping in on top of another diver's float is the fastest way to get a bad reputation.

Do not shoot fish another diver is obviously working. If you see someone stalking a fish — focused, positioned, clearly in a hunt — back off. Even if you have a clear shot, it is not your fish. Respect the stalk.

Online Etiquette

Social media is where spots get burned most often, so the standards are higher here. When you post a catch photo: use a generic region name like "Southern California" or "San Diego County" rather than a specific beach. Crop out identifiable backgrounds. Turn off location tagging. If you run a YouTube channel, blur landmarks in thumbnails and intros. The rule is: could someone with local knowledge identify this spot? If yes, edit.

Be especially careful with YouTube and video content. A five-minute edit can give away a dive entry, a parking lot, a unique rock structure, and the general swim direction. Viewers piece this together fast. If you are going to make dive content, do it from well-known public spots where everyone already dives. Save the productive water for your dive log.

Trash, Gear, and the Environment

Pack out what you bring and pack out what you find. Lost fishing line, abandoned floats, energy bar wrappers in the parking lot — every piece of trash you remove from a spot makes it better for the next diver. Beaches and reefs where divers clean up stay in good shape. Beaches where they do not turn into dumps fast.

Never abandon gear. A lost float line in kelp is a hazard. A float that broke free should be chased down and recovered. If something is genuinely gone, make peace with it — but do not get in the habit of leaving gear in the water.

Report illegal activity. If you see someone spearing undersized fish, hunting in a marine protected area, or otherwise poaching, report it to CDFW or the local fisheries authority. It is not snitching — it is protecting the fishery you depend on. The long-term health of spearfishing depends on enforcement.

Dive Buddy Etiquette

One-up-one-down buddy protocol is non-negotiable. If your buddy is below, you are watching. No exceptions. Drop at your own convenience only when your buddy is safely on the surface.

Help recover gear. If your buddy loses a stringer, drops a speargun on a bad shot, or tangles in something, you help. This is the unspoken contract. You dive together, you help each other.

Do not ghost a trip. If you said you are coming and something changes, tell your buddy in advance. Last-minute no-shows at 4am in the parking lot wreck the whole trip for the person who drove.

Boat Ramp and Parking Etiquette

Prep at home, not at the ramp. The boat ramp is not where you rig floats, thread wetsuits, or decide what gun to bring. Get that done in your driveway. At the ramp, launch quick and clear the lane for the next boat.

Same for shore diving. If the parking lot is small, do not take two spots. Get changed, get your gear, and move. Divers who hog parking at popular spots get noticed for the wrong reasons.

Respect Other Ocean Users

Surfers, kayakers, swimmers, and paddlers all share the water. Stay clear of surf lineups. Fly your dive flag visibly. Do not spearfish in or near swim areas. If a fisherman on the rocks is casting into water you want to dive, move somewhere else — you will both have a better day.

How to Join the Community

If you are new and want in, the path is simple: take a certified freediving course, join a local spearfishing club or Facebook group, show up to group dives, dive with other people, help with gear, ask intelligent questions, and be useful. Over time, trust builds. Spots get shared. Friendships form. This takes a season or two of consistent effort — not a weekend.

Do not cold-ask for spots. Asking an experienced diver "where do you dive for WSB?" in a comment section on social media is the fastest way to get ignored. The answer is always "put in the time." Nobody owes you their spots. They are shared, not given.

Why This Matters

This is not just about being a good person, though that is reason enough. Long-term access to good spearfishing depends on a functioning community. Reputations travel. Divers talk. The person you burn today is the person who does not invite you on the charter next year. The Instagram post that burns a spot reduces the quality of diving for everyone — including you — within a few seasons. The whole sport works because most people play by the rules. The small number who do not make it harder for everyone.

Respect the divers who came before you. Respect the fishery. Respect the water. Do the work to earn your spots. That is the whole code, and it has kept spearfishing healthy for generations.

Check dive conditions before every session. For free California-focused forecasts, visit conditions.spearfactor.com.

Never dive alone. Always use one-up-one-down buddy protocol. For more on freediving safety, visit freedivingsafety.com.

Photo: "Spearfisherman, Ryukyu Islands" by Yugyug, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).