The International Underwater Spearfishing Association

International Underwater Spearfishing Association

World Record

5.0 kg. , 11.0 lbs.

Hogfish, Blackbarred Bodianus Speciosus

Record Category: Men Speargun

Diver:		Francois Smuts
Date:		12/28/2017
Location:		LIBERIA

I took my wife diving at the abandoned gas platform "Le Belier" off of the capital city of Ivory Coast, while on a visit there for the Christmas holidays. We were making turns with my speargun, as she is new to the sport and I was teaching her the ropes of open water diving. There was a strong current running that day, so we stuck to diving the down-current side of the platform for safety's sake. I had shot a couple of Cubera Snappers and a Barracuda and was just finishing my last couple of dives before it was my wife's turn to have a go with my speargun once more. At 20m down I saw this fish with a distinctly white patch near the tail. I had no idea what fish it was, but was sure that it was not a Cubera, the fish that I was targeting at the time. I ignored it at first and when no Cuberas came in, I decided to drop about another 5 or so meters and take the shot, before ascending to the surface. Since I had never before seen this species of fish and it was a relatively healthy specimen, keeping to good depth, I had an idea that it might be a World Record.