MEMBER PROFILE
William Smith Colleges in a quaint town in upstate New York. Returning home to these tiny islands in the Pacific also returned Salter to the sea. He then transformed his hobby into a career, taking his newfound business acumen in sales and fusing it with his love of spearfishing. He sold fish and fishing accessories, wholesale seafood and worked at a dive-and-tackle shop. Salter also uses spearfishing to play citizen scientist and sometimes harvests fish at the re- quests of local fisheries labs for sampling. Hav- ing competed at the 2023 Kona nationals and Kauai Invasive shootout, Salter enjoys the fusion of sustainability, competition and community outreach. In Kauai, he was able to land a 4.7 lb rare orange-finned roi, a common invasive with a surprising coloration that had not yet been stud-
ied by scientists. The fish was donated so that scientists could take tissue samples to confirm local rumors that the distinct colors are a strong indicator of high levels of ciguatera toxin. Right o the shores of the Club, Salter shot his first manini. He also caught a papio with a three prong spear, which ended up wriggling away—“it haunted my dreams for over a decade
JUST FOR FUN: The cond£ons weren’t quite right, but it didn’t hold Salter back from going on a li¥le adven¦re.
september / october 2023 | AMA 19
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