Valentine Thomas

Thomas spoke about getting into spearfishing, dealing with sexism, and handling backlash from those who call her hobby inhumane. The words “sustainable eating” are included in Thomas’ biography section on Instagram, which point to her practices when spearfishing.
“For me to be able to grab my own food is amazing,” Thomas said. “I like everything — even cleaning the fish afterwards. We are really involved in sea preservation. We never kill anything we won’t eat. People get really angry, they get upset because they are not used to seeing where their food comes from. Everyone turns a blind eye to what they are eating and I put the reality in front of them.”
It’s difficult to imagine Thomas, who became a world record holder in 2013 after catching the largest Atlantic Jack, being afraid of the ocean. But Thomas credits spearfishing for helping her get over her longtime fear of the ocean. Thomas’ spearfishing hobby has taken her far and wide, including Ascension Island, South Africa, Corsica and Greece. Next month, she hopes to claim a new world record in Zanzibar.