Spearfishing

Freediving sport of hunting fish with a spear on a single breath — competition disciplines rank catch weight and variety.

👥1 per team🌤outdoor

What is Spearfishing?

Spearfishing is one of the oldest fishing methods and a modern competitive underwater sport. Divers descend on a single breath (no scuba) to select and spear fish with a hand spear or speargun. CMAS-sanctioned competition (blue-water, coastal, indoor) ranks divers by total catch weight and species variety collected within a set time.

Quick facts

Category

Aquatic Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

outdoor

Country of origin

🇬🇷 Greece

Estimated origin

Ancient Mediterranean; modern competitive sport codified in 20th-century Italy and France

Olympic

No

Popularity

major

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified