November 5, 2013

Member Clubs

 

Affiliated Clubs

The Los Angeles Fathomiers skindiving club,  is one of the oldest and most active dive clubs in California. It was organized in early 1957 as primarily a freediving club devoted to the art of spearfishing. The Fathomiers is a club that welcomes individual divers who enjoy learning the specialized skill of underwater hunting and the selective and conservative taking of game. The club name is widely known throughout the diving world.

Underwater hunting with emphasis on spearfishing, including hunting for white seabass, yellowtail, tuna, halibut, etc., together, with the selective taking of lobsters and abalone and just plain diving for fun are the fundamental activities of the club. We recognize and support all aspects of diving be it freediving or scuba. However, our merits are based solely on freediving efforts.

The organization is open to all persons regardless of age, sex, race, religion or physical ability and no limit to number of members has been set. All experience levels are welcome, from seasoned divers who hold world records to new divers who have never speared a fish. Membership requirements are a three month or longer probationary period whereas a prospective member must have attended three regular club meetings and three regular scheduled club dives, after which a unanimous vote by the active members present is required. A prospective member must have a sponsor, someone who is an active member in the club and who can attest to the members that the prospect will be a beneficial member to the Fathomiers. Important criteria considered in accepting a new member are his/her sincerity and desire to belong and to become a part of the genuine camaraderie enjoyed by all the membership.

The basic functioning of the club includes a regular monthly membership meeting and is currently held on the second Thursday evening of the month (historically, it was on the second Monday of the month) and is followed by a scheduled club dive, normally the following Sunday. The dive is usually a beach event and is designed primarily as an intra-club spearfishing contest. It is a five (5) hour meet, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with a weigh-in and fish stories at 1:30 p.m.

For scheduled beach events members for the most part must enter the water through the surf with only the basic equipment, although most of us have some special type of diving platform, either a scratch type hollow paddleboard, or the open cockpit type (ocean kayak) which allows one to travel to those farther outside hot spots.

Long Beach Neptune’s,  The purpose of the club is to promote and encourage the sport of free diving, underwater hunting and to bring to it’s members a platform of social interaction through meetings and activities of like interest.

Monterey Bay Tritons,  are a freedive spearfishing club located in, Monterey Bay, California.  The Tritons are open to any individuals throughout the Nation that enjoy freediving the California coast line and who want to be part of California’s strongest growing freedive club.

The Tritions are dedicated to safe and conservation minded spearfishing and put a strong emphasis on safety, dive technique and education.  We welcome the knowledge of all expereince levels and if you are interested in freediving, spearfishing and underwater photography, you are invited to come and meet the Tritons at one of our many club dive days.  Of course, new members are welcome at any time.  The Tritons as well, have a strong competitive group that travels throughout the state competing in spearfishing tournaments and welcome new divers.

The Tritons host a year long, 5 event Members Only Tournment Series called the “King of Tritons” that is designed to balance out the experience levels of all divers in the club by focusing on species hunting vs total pounds.  This tournament series will give divers a chance to learn about habitat and fish location throughout the Monterey area.  The tournament series is included in your membership dues.

 

Northern California Underwater Hunters, is a diving forum dedicated to the North Coast of California and it’s oceanic resources. We believe that the North Coast is absolutely unique and precious. We feel honored and privileged to be a part of the sport diving community that exists here. We hunt and gather with the utmost respect for the environment and the laws and regulations of the CA Dept of Fish and Game. We believe in active involvement with the legislative powers to help sustain our vital ocean habitat for generations to come, and to the best of our abilities, help provide them with the unique information that us divers can provide, to make sound and justified decisions. This forum will strive to provide a place where underwater hunting enthusiasts can openly communicate and inform one another of subjects and topics related to North Coast hunting and gathering. Also, to serve as a diving connection base, where divers can meet one another and plan dive trips to share in the enjoyment of this wonderful sport. We hold and adhere to the utmost respect for one another and the individual opinions throughout the forum’s membership. It is our hope that the club be as diversified as possible with new divers to the most seasoned and advanced divers sharing in the knowledge and enjoyment of such a unique sport.

OC Spearos,  is a spearfishing and freediving club, which educates the public on the ecologically sustainable sport of spearfishing. We are committed to preserving the marine environment through public outreach and club events. Club members are encouraged to mentor others who are new to the sport. We invite members to help one another to become more proficient and skilled in the sport. Above all we are here to have fun through education and activities so that we can continue to enjoy the beauty and offerings of the ocean.

San Diego Freedivers;  The purpose of the San Diego Freedivers is to support a fellowship with other freedivers, preserve the history of freediving and spearfishing, stewardship of marine resources and to encourage competitions and sportsmanship.

The Santa Barbara Freedivers,  were created in 2007 by a group of local spearos armed with the desire to create a local club as a means to share information and address the MLPA issues specific to our region. In addition to bringing awareness to the MLPA process, we set out to share our knowledge of local fisheries, techniques, gear and most importantly, fish stories with each other and the mass of spearos in the area. Currently, we are the only spearfishing club in the Santa Barbara and Ventura area. We maintain an open membership and meeting format that allows any person to come and join our club and share in the wealth of knowledge we have to offer. Members range from enthusiastic beginners to experienced waterman and everything in between. We are currently working on our 2013 charity fundraising schedule and look forward to being able to give back to the communities and organizations that have helped in ocean access and conservations issues.

 

Sonoma County Abalone Network;  SCAN works throughout the State of California, on abalone and diving issues.

SCAN works for the wise management of the abalone resource throughout California, works with law enforcement to curb poaching, and protects divers rights to fish a healthy sustainable resource.

SCAN represents divers interests in the regulation making process and strives to eliminate negative contact between legal divers and law enforcement.

SCAN pays out cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of poachers.

SCAN has opposed the former Commercial Abalone Harvesters efforts to reopen abalone harvest in Southern California.

During the prosecution of major offenders, SCAN provides public support to the prosecution process.

SCAN works to raise awareness of the damage, illegal activities (poaching) is causing.

SCAN is governed by a Board of Directors and welcomes members at large