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29/06/2004: "PETER BRISTOW with a baby spearfish"
When gamefishing expert Captain Peter Bristow caught this tiny Long Nosed Spearfish off the Portuguese island of Madeira he described it as "the prettiest thing I have ever seen". Peter has seen a lot of pretty fish too.
The day before he caught (tagged and released) a 700 pound relative, the first spearfish of the season.
Peter and his mates Peter Wright and Dennis Wallace were the original black marlin gamefishing skippers who made Cairns, Queensland the prime big game fishing destination in the world.
Peter is 67 this year, (2004) and has 50 years experience with the sea. At present home is Madeira off Morocco. The ocean currents there bring whales, dolphin, tuna and billfish encounters described by experts as 'extraordinary opportunities' for both fishing and snorkeling.
While living at Cairns, Bristow played a significant part in sparking media interest which ultimately protected the unique family of potato cod that later became world famous.
Known as 'The Cod Hole' these fish are slowly leaving due to regulations that limit feeding them. Fish feeding situations unfortunately tend to 'get out of hand'.
The problems began when pair of former moray eels died whilst being forcefully 'relocated'. The move considered a necessity after a woman was seriously mauled by the largest eel, her arm requiring amputation.
The cod/grouper were also 'keen feeders'. Diver Dale Chapman once having his whole head 'mouthed' by one of these grouper. ("The lights suddenly went out" said Dale).
In our early days we met Peter Bristow and fellow pro fishermen Les Nash and Billy Lawler at North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane during our shark and surf film expedition for Surf Scene (a diving longboard surf documentary being filmed by Ron Taylor starring Russell Hughes, Robert Conneeley and Tanya Binning. The divers were Valerie Taylor and I).
In that era fishermen believed divers frightened the seafood away and were unfriendly to all skindivers, especially those with spearguns. For some years it was a mini war on the rocks until divers began using fast boats.
When we reported a big school of Spanish Mackerel at Flinders Reef, the professionals undertook the 30 mile ocean voyage up past Cape Moreton and made the effort worthwhile by catching a dozen each or more.
Our advice had been appreciated, a lasting friendship was established. I always felt welcome after that and still do.
Soon afterwards Peter Bristow moved north to Cairns and launched his gamefishing boat Avalon.
Later I filmed marlin and especially the underwater feeding pattern of a dozen 12 foot tiger sharks feasting on a 1006 pound black marlin, more unique today than ever as the big sharks have become either wary or fewer in number.
Highlights of the marlin jump footage appear in the Hollywood movie Islands in the Stream. The movie itself was a bit of a dud but we were well paid and gained much satisfaction from our combined efforts. Later Peter appeared on Japanese TV as an Australian Old Man of the Sea for a whisky commercial. He looks more suitable than ever for a remake of that role today.
