A kayaker has come across a surprising sight while paddling off the Sunshine Coast. Swimming slowly near the surface of the water was a deadly stonefish, the most venomous fish in the ocean.
While it’s not uncommon to see stonefish around the area, they are typically spotted on the ocean floor, camouflaged by sand and rocks. As bottom-dwellers, they usually pose a risk for swimmers who might accidentally stand on them.
Bill’s Boat Hire — a company that has operated from Golden Beach for 70 years — captured the rare video, with manager Rob Palmer telling Yahoo News there were actually two fish swimming together.
“It was a bit rare to see him swimming at the surface,” Rob said, adding he’d never seen anything like it before.
The vision was captured by their offsider Lucas who was paddling out to retrieve one of their BBQ boats.
“As he was paddling out he saw one stonefish on the surface swimming. So he turned around, got the work phone and started filming it, and then realised it was two swimming together.
“So that was pretty cool.”
How dangerous are stonefish?
Stonefish have a row of dorsal fin spines, which inject extremely poisonous venom into anything that comes into contact with them.
The venom causes immediate excruciating pain and severe swelling, which can inflame the entire limb within minutes.
The sting can also cause tissue damage, nausea, cardiac effects, shock and even death — though no deaths have been recorded in Australia since European arrival, according to the Australian Museum.
While the risk of standing on the stonefish in this instance is reduced, Rob said they could still pack a punch if touched.
“If Lucas fell out of the kayak and landed on top of it, he would have been in a bit of pain,” he said.
Stonefish are rarely seen anywhere in the ocean but the bottom, Prof Culum Brown said. Source: Bill’s Boat Hire‘Weird’ behaviour for bottom-dwelling fish
Professor Culum Brown, from Macquarie University’s School of Natural Sciences, told Yahoo News that stonefish are rarely seen anywhere other than the seafloor.
“This is pretty weird for stonefish,” he said. “They are not good swimmers at the best of times and are very rarely seen anywhere in the water column other than sitting on the bottom.
“It is pretty likely that this fish is sick or injured in some way.
“They do aggregate at the breeding season, but even then they tend to move along the bottom.”
Prof Brown said the fact that there was more than one could possibly suggest a lack of oxygen or something else that is “forcing them to come up off the ground”.
“That can happen when water becomes highly stratified,” he said.
“Either way, this is not normal.”
He advised swimmers to stay clear of any stonefish, as even a scratch from bumping into one could cause a lot of grief.
Swimming stonefish ‘incredibly rare’ to see
According to Master Reef Guides, spotting a stonefish on the move is “incredibly rare”.
One of their guides recorded a stonefish swimming at the Great Barrier Reef back in August 2021, and at the time the organisation said they’d never see it before.
This stonefish was spotted swimming a short distance at the Great Barrier Reef, leaving the divers amazed. Source: Master Reef Guides
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