Bathers warned of venomous sand-coloured fish

SWIMMERS and surfers have been warned to be wary of the venomous weever fish, which they may encounter due to the new moon and spring tides this month.

The small sand-coloured fish is found all round the Irish coast but only in sandy areas where the water is warm and shallow close to the mean low-water tide line.

It spends most of the time buried under the sand with just its venomous black dorsal fin showing above the sandy bottom. It grows to a maximum length of 15 centimetres.

A new moon yesterday will lead to spring tides, which means that swimmers and surfers will have to venture further out from the beach into the area where the weever live.

Chief executive of Irish Water Safety, John Leech, warned swimmers and surfers to be particularly careful as the fish can cause anaphylactic shock or allergic reaction.

“Should a bather step on a weever fish then the pain is excruciating as the spines embed into the human flesh and discharge their poison.

“The pain is at its most intense for the first two hours when the foot normally goes red and swells up, and then it may feel numb until the following day with irritation and pain that may last for up to two weeks.

“Sometimes, the spine breaks off in the foot and it will cause discomfort until it is removed. You won’t see a weever fish easily but you will know it’s there if you are unfortunate enough to stand on one since its back has a defensive sting mechanism,” he said.

Most reports of stings occur in August, but this reflects the greater numbers of bathers as the sea temperature reaches the highest of the year.

People who have been stung should take painkillers and if they develop an allergic reaction to the sting, a course of antihistamines is recommended.

People should seek assistance as soon as possible and get the area which has been stung into hot water. This increases the blood flow which assists natural cleaning and healing and the heat also helps to break down the poison. The water needs to be over 40C to be of any benefit in breaking down the poison.

Irish Water Safety also advised the public to avoid swimming about one hour either side of low water to reduce the risk of stepping on the venomous fish.