By Arthur Gorrie
Ugly by name, ugly by appearance and nature, the Queensland stonefish is once again a threat to holiday visitors to Gympie’s Cooloola Coast, Barnacles Cafe owner Les Dunstan has warned.
Mr Dunstan says the evil looking mini-monsters lie in wait for the unwary, their barbs containing a poison which victims say causes such pain that it makes imminent death seem like a blessed relief.
And shoes are not necessarily any protection, the waterfront business owner said.
Cooloola Coast commercial diver Kev Phillips is one victim who has no wish to repeat the experience, after a stonefish barb penetrated his steel mesh glove while he worked on mooring maintenance near the mouth of the Mary River.
“The only first aid is to shove the affected area into boiling water, or as close as you can stand,” he said.
That cooks the proteins that make up the venom.
“The only problem is it cooks your skin as well,” he said of the injury he still remembers and which still causes him numbness in the arm years later.
“I could feel it moving up my arm and once it gets into your body, your heart is next,” he said.
Mr Phillips found himself willingly submerging his arm in an electric urn full of boiling water, “because it hurt less than the venom.”
That kept him in the land of the living until he could get to hospital,” he said. He was treated for both stonefish poisoning and second to third degree burns on his arm.
Meanwhile Mr Dunstan says the deadly, and very ugly, fish love to congregate on concrete underwater structures, like the mooring Mr Phillips was working on.
“They are often found at boat ramps,” he said.
That includes one favourite ramp at Crab Creek, at the other end of Tin Can Bay from his Norman Point business.
Mr Dunstan has a small collection of the creatures, dead and preserved in jars at his cafe.
That, he says, is the only place he wants to see them.
