Anything that impedes a spearfisherman’s ability to get to the surface is deadly. One of the hidden dangers in spearfishing is becoming the victim of line tangles, particularly after fish have been speared and the excitement starts. Please observe the following guidelines:

• The line you are most likely to get tangled up in is your own! Always use an appropriate stiff propylene float line that floats, and reduces the potential for knots and snags.
• With floatlines, we recommend that you customize the length of your floatline for the dive your are doing, if you are drifting along shallow reefs, you can afford to have a shorter floatline which is considerably more manageable.
• The period after a fish has been speared is when you are most at risk. Be aware that any activity rapidly burns oxygen. If you are fighting a fish towards the surface, don’t fight it from depth, give up rope, and try to get to the surface as soon as possible, where your buoyancy will be an advantage.
• Be careful. Even small fish, particularly if they have been speared towards the tail, can be deceptively strong and can pull you under water a lot longer than you are expecting.
• Be particularly careful not to get tangled up while trying to fight fish to the surface. Also be aware that even though the fish may be small, a shark, sea lion, or other large predator may take your speared fish and drag you down along with it so be careful about wrapping the line around your hand to gain leverage.
• Always use a knife when you dive, a sharp easily accessible knife could well prevent problems one day. And ensure that the knife is accessible with either hand. The hand you may ordinarily use for your dive knife, might well be the hand that is caught in your float line.
• Be particularly vigilant when diving with a reel gun. Dynema line is far more prone to becoming tangled than is the thicker and more rigid propylene float line or mono shooting line. It is also not uncommon for a reel to become snagged with the line after shooting a big fish, if this happens discard the gun and swim to the surface. There are plenty more fish in the sea.
• Always use a quick release weight belt. And always put the belt on the same way, with a right hand quick release, so that you can get rid of your weightbelt quickly and instinctively. You should always treat anything on your weightbelt as disposable so should consider putting your diving knife elsewhere.