Warning After Man O War Stings At Shelly Bay

May 2, 2022

[Written by Don Burgess]

A Hamilton Parish man is warning beachgoers about Portuguese Man O War at Shelly Bay after he was stung on Wednesday.

The man had gone for a run and had stopped at Shelly Bay around 7 pm. He wanted to refresh himself with a cool dip in the water. He told Bernews he was swimming backward when he felt a sting on his right arm.

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When he looked down, a Portuguese Man O War had wrapped himself all around it. The man went home and used vinegar to ease the pain he was feeling but then went to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital to make sure everything was okay.

He went back to Shelly Bay after work “and saw many of them dead on the beach. It didn’t look like that on Wednesday. There wasn’t any signs of that sort.” If he had seen the Portuguese Man O War on the beach on Wednesday, the man said he would not have gone into the water.

The Government has already advised the public to “take extreme care and caution while in or near the ocean given the increased presence of the Portuguese Man of War.”

A spokesperson previously said, “Portuguese Man of War can be identified with their bluish gas-filled float on top of the water, however, their in-water tentacles are often not seen making it a deadly predator for small fish and extremely painful for humans after contact with the skin.

“Please keep your distance and do not touch the Portuguese Man of War even if they are on land or a beach as the tentacles can still be very venomous.”

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Category: All, Environment

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