Mark Healey has been freedive spearfishing since he was a teenager growing up on O‘ahu. As a professional surfer he has ridden some of the world’s largest waves for over two decades and has great respect and an understanding of the power of the ocean.
When he’s not surfing, Healey stays connected to the ocean environment by spending hours alone underwater, speargun or sling in hand. For Healey, hunting underwater is very similar to on land. “Most of it is just observing and trying to be a noninvasive part of that environment,” he says, “and sometimes you decide to take a fish.”
Hunting is just part of the experience that Healey intentionally weaves through his life. Bringing back food he’s harvested to family and friends, either to share or trade or both, connects his dependence on the natural environment for food to the interconnectedness — the give and take — of his community.