For other methods of surface-supplied diving, see surface-supplied diving.

Compressor diving is a method of surface-supplied diving used in some tropical sea areas including the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 and the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. The divers swim with an eyes-and-nose diving mask

Diving mask

A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. When the human eye is in direct contact with water as opposed to air, its normal environment, light entering the eye is refracted by a different angle and the eye is unable...

 and (often home-made) fins and are supplied air by plastic hoses from an air compressor

Air compressor

An air compressor is a device that converts power into kinetic energy by compressing and pressurizing air, which, on command, can be released in quick bursts...

 of the type commonly used to supply jackhammer

Jackhammer

A jackhammer is a pneumatic tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel that was invented by Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are typically powered by compressed air, but some use electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are...

s. There is no reduction valve; the diver holds the hose end in his mouth with no mouthpiece

Mouthpiece (scuba)

In breathing sets, a mouthpiece is a part that the user grips in his mouth, to make a watertight seal between the breathing set and his mouth. It is composed of a short flattened-oval tube that goes in between the lips, with on its free end a flange that fits between the lips and the tooth and gums...

 or breathing mask. The compressor is on a boat.

If several people are compressor diving from the same boat, several linesmen are needed in the boat to stop the airlines from getting tangled and kinked and so blocked.

Compressor diving is the most common method used to fish for Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus

Panulirus argus

Panulirus argus, the Caribbean spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on reefs and in mangrove swamps in the western Atlantic Ocean.-Anatomy:...

) in the Caribbean . However, it is illegal because it contributes to overfishing, is environmentally destructive, and is harmful to the health of the fishers.. When fishing with compressors, fishers either use gaffs or harpoons to spear lobsters immediately upon sight, killing or injuring the lobsters before they can be checked for eggs or assessed as legally-sized. Compressors allow fishers to fish in deeper waters for longer periods of time, facilitating reef damage as fishers search for lobsters hidden underneath corals and other living refuges. The misuse of compressors has also resulted in health problems for many fishers, such as respiratory problems, limb paralysis, and death due to decompression illness

Decompression illness

Decompression Illness describes a collection of symptoms arising from decompression of the body.DCI is caused by two different mechanisms, which result in overlapping sets of symptoms. The two mechanisms are:...

 .

Compressor diving was shown, and so called, used for pa-aling fishing, in episode 1 (Oceans: Into the Blue) of the BBC television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 series Human Planet

Human Planet

Human Planet is an 8-part British television documentary series. It is produced by the BBC with co-production from Discovery and BBC Worldwide...

. The cameramen used ordinary scuba gear, but one of them had a trial-dive with the crew's compressor-diving gear.

Pa-aling fishing

This method of diving is commonly used in Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 waters for pa-aling fishing, which is fishing with big nets on coral reef areas where a surface-dragged net would snag on coral; the compressor air hoses are also used to make a curtain of bubbles to corral and herd the fish into the nets, since muro-ami fishing was stopped in the area. At least one pa-aling fishing fleet has been found and arrested in a protected fishery area.