I was interested to see where this went because I was thinking about giving it a shot on my next trip. So far I have seen nothing that says it's illegal. Frowned upon, yes. However, after seeing this the reported damage it does I will probably stay away. I am a guest in Jamaica and would not want to damage its beauty. I pick up trash on the beach while I am a guest and try to only leave a positive impact while visiting. However to play devils advocate; I may not know how to read Jamaican law but "bring changes to the practice of using the mechanical spear guns for fishing, effective March 31, 2010.
" & "embark on a programme to replace, at the cost of the Government, the mechanical spear guns which have had a devastating impact on our reef fish" doesn't sound like "illegal." As I said I will stay away since it seems to be bad for the ecology but have yet to see the illegality in it with the sources provided and through my own research. Perhaps the laws are not as transparent or need to be strengthened to protect the reef?