WILDLIFE SAFETY: THE STONEFISH

chances of being stung by a stonefish, probably the most dangerous fish

in Arabian waters (sharks included) are fortunately not great enough to

justify staying out of the sea. The main problem is that recognising a

stonefish, even if it is right in front of your eyes, is very difficult.

Their camouflage is incredibly effective and only experienced fish-watchers

who have a trained eye are likely to see them. Given this natural disadvantage

there are several things that you can do to reduce the likelihood of standing

on, sitting on, or accidentally touching one of these highly poisonous

fish.

First of all it helps to recognise where the danger is most likely to

lie. Stonefish prefer shallow water (from just below the surface to around

3 metres) although they can be found at much greater depths. They are often

found clinging to algal covered rocks in the surge-zone, where constant

wave action makes it difficult to stay still, but where the stonefish anchors

itself quite effectively to the substrate, merging perfectly with the background.

The greatest danger of being stung is when wading through the shallows,

across the reef-top, and especially near the reef-edge. One should always

wear thick soled plastic sandals or reef-walking shoes if one is treading

on the bottom and whenever possible one should swim, rather than walk,

thus reducing damage to the marinelife and lessening the danger of being

stung by a stonefish. When walking it is a good idea to shuffle one foot

in front of the other rather than to take big strides in which each foot

is raised up and then placed down onto the seabed with the risk of landing

on a stonefish. The shuffle motion will increase the likelihood that you

scare a stonefish away from your tracks rather than precipitate its ire

by descending from on high onto its potentially lethal spines.

In the event that you are stung by a stonefish do not panic. Although

the pain will be excruciating stonefish stings are generally not fatal

and there is a great deal that can be done to lessen the effects of the

poison and to accelerate recovery. The stonefish is armed with thirteen

strong spines along its back. When the stonefish is trodden on, or otherwise

angered, the spines lock into an erect position and poison is injected

into the foot or other offending body-part. The poison itself is an unstable,

high molecular weight, protein that has an effect upon muscles including

respiratory and heart muscle. Early symptoms after a poisoning include

shock, depressed breathing, local paralysis and agonising pain.

The first thing to do is to find a nearby source of hot, hot water.

Clean the wound, removing any debris, and place the foot, hand or other

wounded section of the body into the hot water (NOT boiling but as hot

as the patient can stand without being physically scalded). In the laboratory

the poison is denatured by exposure to 50°C temperatures for just two

minutes but since the poison is already injected into the body it will

be impossible to achieve such a rapid effect. For this reason the heat

treatment should be continued for at least an hour and possibly an hour

and a half or more. The sooner this is done the more effective it will

be.

The patient should be made to lie down and the injured foot (or other

body-part) should be elevated above the rest of the body. In the most likely

event that it is the sole of a foot that is stung, the leg should be propped

up and the knee bent so that the foot is immersed in a bowl of hot water

which is supported at a level above that of the bed, ground or bench upon

which the victim is lying. If potassium permanganate is available, a weak

5% solution of this can be used to wash out the wound.

Once the first-aid stage is completed, or if full medical facilities

are close by, take the patient to a place where stonefish antivenin can

be administered. Further details on this valuable medicine are available

in the book, Red Sea Safety (Immel Publishing, ISBN 1 898 162 700).

Although stonefish are quite common in shallow waters around Arabia’s

extensive coastline, the occurrence of accidents involving stingings is

quite rare. Providing one takes sensible precautions there should be nothing

to worry about.

(The publisher would be interested

Street, London W1X5AE, UK).