Dive tips

Bermuda spearfishing requires a licence from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and licences are issued only to Bermuda residents. You must stay at least one nautical mile from any shore, use only a pole spear (spearguns and Hawaiian slings are illegal), and never take fish while on SCUBA. Around 30 dive sites are protected year-round, and more close seasonally — check the current closed areas before every trip, because the rules change.

Read the licence & permits guide for costs, requirements and how to apply, or go straight to gov.bm →

Use the one-up, one-down system: one diver in the water, one on the boat watching. Shallow -water blackout happens without warning and almost always on the way up, in the last few metres, where a partner on the surface is the only thing that helps. With a mile of water between you and land, self-rescue is not a plan.

Agree on the drift line, where the boat will idle, and the pick-up signal before anyone rolls off the gunwale. A marked float with a flag keeps the boat oriented to the diver and warns other traffic. Watch the current — a mile offshore, a gentle drift becomes a long swim against it by the end of the dive.

Slow, relaxed breathing for a couple of minutes before a dive. Forceful hyperventilation lowers your urge to breathe without adding oxygen, which is exactly how divers black out. Surface long before you feel desperate, and rest at least twice as long as your dive.

Fish sit where food and shelter meet: ledge edges, holes in the reef flat, and the line where turtle grass gives way to sand. Drop quietly, settle on the bottom and let the reef relax — most species come back within a minute if you stop chasing them.

A cruising snapper or a triggerfish in a burst keeps moving while your spear travels. Lead the shot and aim for the head or the shoulder just behind it. In the game's training mode you can practise that lead with no clock running — though remember the game lets you use a speargun for fun; on the water, it's pole spear only.

EcoDive Bermuda stocks wetsuits, low-volume masks, freediving fins and accessories on-island. Blue Water Divers is a long-running PADI 5-Star centre and a good contact for boat dive logistics and rental kit. See the gear guide for brands and indicative prices.