Caithness beach alert as weever fish discovered
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PEOPLE enjoying the sun, sea and sand along Reiss beach in Caithness should be wary of where they step after venomous weever fish were discovered there.
The small fish are increasing in numbers along UK shores and are responsible for many painful encounters. If trodden on, the spines unleash a powerful venom that can cause excruciating pain.
Commenting on Facebook, Andrea Smith said she spoke to an angler at Reiss who had "just caught two weever fish" last week and claimed he had never seen them in that area before.
Andrea said she had a close encounter with a weever fish before so knew all about the prickly creatures. "They are well known down south in warmer water. We were away in Cornwall last year and I stood on one."
She said she had no idea how to treat the injury but lifeguards had helped by steeping the affected foot in hot water. "And when I say hot, a kettle that had just been boiled," she added.
The water was regularly topped up for 30 minutes to "disperse the venom" but she said it was a full three days before the pain subsided.
Adrian Winchester claims to have caught several on Reiss beach last year and angler Dennis Farquhar said he had caught "a few lesser weever fish over the years from Dunnet beach" and always carries leather gloves to "unhook and release". There have been reports of the fish at Thurso beach too.
Keen angler Tommy Wright said he had caught one when on holiday. "When I unhooked it, I put it on the sand and stood it on its tail and you could see the venom shooting out the spines on its back," he said.
Weever fish are small and bury into the sand in shallow waters so are particularly hard to spot. It is the lesser weever fish that is generally encountered in British waters and numbers are said to be increasing due to climate change.
These aggressive predators have spines containing strong venom on their dorsal fins and on their gill covers.
"Every person reacts different to them but this guy yesterday was saying young kids and the elderly could get really hurt and especially someone with heart problems," said Andrea, who suggests bathers might want to wear special beach shoes as a barrier.
At first, many victims believe they have simply scratched themselves on a sharp stone or shell but significant pain begins a few minutes later.
An RNLI lifeguard supervisor who has treated victims in Cornwall said reactions vary from person to person. She said: "I've seen grown men cry from the pain and then a small child not be affected by it."
