Weaver Fish.... (Boatish)

[AIDY]

anyone know anything about them ???

A lady was stung / bitten by one in priory bay (bembridge) at the weekend whilst paddling in the sea. she was on her way back to the boat that was anchored out.

 

[exfinnsailor]

I Gooooooooooogled it 4 u .. Try HERE .. Nasty little blighters ... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[AIDY]

I Googled too before posting ! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif and found a lot of info /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif hence the post to make people aware.....

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

It is said their sting is extremely painful.

Put me off paddling without flip flops

Never seen one though, and never seen anyone being stung, so not sure what their distibtion is like.

 

[ChrisE]

In some places there are 100s of the little blighters. We catch them when feathering for mackeral. Spine on dorsal fin carries the toxin. If you get one when you are feathering get some pliers and pull them off the hook, preferebly wearing gloves.

If you get spiked you could try what the only person I've seen spiked by one did and it seemed to work

1. Try to suck out the toxin.
2. Pour water as near to boiling as you can over the bit that's been spiked.

I make no claims as to the medical sense of this but it did work.

 

[Sequoiah1]

Normally find them in sandy anchorages, used to see them at Studland many years ago. You can eat them too but beware as they could be a bit fugu like!!

 

[DownWest]

Common in Portugal, esp. in the shallow waters by beaches. Fisherman told me to beat the sole of the foot with a stick if stung. (I suppose it takes your mind off the sting) He had been stung and likened it to a scorpion, 24hrs of discomfort.
Quite good eating tho'.
A
Called peixe aranha (spider) there.

 

[mlthomas]

Daughter was stung by one of these a few years ago /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif, the hot water thing worked well
Might be worth being mindful of the anaphylactic shock, she was treated by the lifeguards on Sandbanks (splendid job, really looked after) but they kept her there for quite a while until they were happy there was not going to be a reaction.

 

[Impaler]

I was stung off Norfolk when paddling as a teenager. It's like a triple wasp sting. Lower lip was given permission to wobble.

 

[holly1]

If i remember correctly the hot water breaks down the proteins in the sting. when i was in indonesia with some students elf and safety made us take a flask of hot water around with us

 

[JonJon]

Yup got stung on sole of foot when I was about 10 years old playing in the surf - think it was Freshwater Bay IOW. Bloody well hurt - triple wasp sting about right. Didnt know what it was at the time but pretty sure it must have been a Weaver.
Lower lip job definitely.

 

[Davy_S]

I helped a child many years ago, he was fishing from Painton, Devon. He grabbed a lesser weaver whilst fishing for mackerel. His hand started to swell up and he was in a great deal of pain, he was only about 7/8 years old. His father ended up taking him to hospital where the problem was sorted out. They were tourists and had no idea of what the fish was. The gills are poisonus as well as the dorsal fin.
I have also heard that putting the effected part in hot water reduces the sting.

 

[Ariadne]

PLenty of hot water, as hot as you can physically stand it. This breaks down the toxins and helps to clear it all up. 24 hrs of pain & discomfort then off you go again. Both I and my daughter stood on them last year in Spain & Portugal.

The Lesser Weaver is the one you get in shallow water, and is the one you normally stand on. The Greater Weaver is the one you often catch when fishing. You should take this off the hook with thick gloves or a rag, gut it and eat it - tastes good and is somewhat revengefull for its smaller cousins stinging the family!

 

[mikehibb]

[ QUOTE ]
If i remember correctly the hot water breaks down the proteins in the sting. when i was in indonesia with some students elf and safety made us take a flask of hot water around with us

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep sounds about right. If I catch a mozzie bight early enough then hold a lit cigarette as close to it as possible hold until you nreally need to take it away, breaks doen the proteins as said above.

 

[nicho]

[ QUOTE ]
anyone know anything about them ???

A lady was stung / bitten by one in priory bay (bembridge) at the weekend whilst paddling in the sea. she was on her way back to the boat that was anchored out.

[/ QUOTE ]

This was a friend of ours actually. Hubby was anchored several hundred metres off shore, and as she had the dinghy, could not get to her. In the end called a the Coastguard who arranged for the inshore lifeboat came to her rescue and take her for a medical check up. All turned a bit farcical when the inshore hit a rock and took the props off. All ended up OK, though later in the day she was still very sore.

Nasty little buggers those things.

 

[cliffordpope]

I was stung a couple of years ago at Tresaith, west Wales. Very painful, but not quite as bad as they say, but possibly it depends how you react to stings and bites generally.
Very hot water certainly helped reduce the pain. Normal pain killers are said to be effective too.

The worst bit is having everyone else getting in a panic and telling you how serious it is and you should call a doctor, etc.

 

[Impaler]

When I was stung at Winterton on the Norfolk coast I was with my parents and coincidentally and RAF rescue chopper flew past. My Mum asked me if I wanted her to wave it down to whisk me off to hospital. I thought that would not only be a bit of a bother but also rather impractical. She's from Cork.