{"id":346280,"date":"2025-08-15T10:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T10:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346280\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T10:22:12","slug":"fresh-warning-from-second-ni-council-over-venomous-fish-spotted-at-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/346280\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh warning from second NI council over venomous fish spotted at beaches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;These fish spend most of their time on the seabed close to shore, often submerged in the sand, and can deliver an excruciating sting&#8221;<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0_Portstewart-Strand-Beach-Co_master.jpg\" alt=\"Portstewart strand, Co Derry\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Portstewart strand, Co Derry(Image: Failte Ireland\/ Dillon Osborne)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A fresh warning has been issued by another Northern Ireland council over a venomous fish spotted on beaches here, known as a weever fish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/all-about\/causeway-coast-and-glens-council\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Causeway Coast and Glens council<\/a> covers a huge tract of the Northern Ireland coastline stretching from the shores of Lough Foyle in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/all-about\/co-derry\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Co Derry<\/a> to the glens of Antrim and takes in popular seaside locations such as the beaches at Benone, Castlerock, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/all-about\/portush\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Portrush<\/a>, and a host of others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A spokesperson has confirmed that the venomous weever fish has stinging spines along its dorsal fins, which can cause intense pain to anyone who stands on one. The fish is &#8220;often found&#8221; on beaches in the Causeway council area.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/news\/northern-ireland\/venomous-fish-warning-ni-beaches-32250272\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"32250272\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venomous fish warning for NI beaches amid summer sunshine<\/a>READ MORE: <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/news\/northern-ireland\/two-ni-lakes-flagged-hazardous-32249771\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"32249771\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Two NI lakes flagged as &#8216;hazardous&#8217; as public warned to stay out of water<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/all-about\/causeway-coast-and-glens-borough-council\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Causeway Coast and Glens council<\/a> has become the second local council to issue a warning about the venomous fish, following an earlier appeal in Mid and East Antrim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A spokesperson for the Causeway council said: &#8220;During the summer months, weever fish are often found on beaches along the Causeway Coast.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1_GettyImages-1246382966.jpg\" alt=\"A great weever (Trachinus draco) is seen in the depths of Sea of Marmara at Izmit Bay, easternmost edge of the Sea of Marmara, in Kocaeli Province, Turkiye on January 08, 2023.\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Weever fish stock image(Image: Tahsin Ceylan\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;These fish spend most of their time on the seabed close to shore, often submerged in the sand, and can deliver an excruciating sting to anyone who stands on one. In order to significantly reduce the risk of being stung it is generally advised to wear protective footwear such as flip-flops or crocs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The council also issued advice for anyone unfortunate enough to be stung by the venomous creature, saying:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"UnorderedList_unordered-list__gzblI\">\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Remove any visible spines:<\/strong> Use tweezers or the edge of a credit card to carefully remove any spines or fragments from the skin, avoiding rubbing the area.<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Immerse in hot water:<\/strong> The affected area should be soaked in the hottest water that can be tolerated (45\u00b0C or 113\u00b0F) for at least 30 minutes. Some first aid resources suggest using seawater, rather than fresh water, to rinse the wound.<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Take pain relief:<\/strong> Over-the-counter pain relievers like paracetamol or ibuprofen can help manage the pain.<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-700e1ff3-0 VljCu\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Seek medical attention:<\/strong> If the pain is severe, persistent, or if there are signs of infection (redness or swelling), seek medical advice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A council spokesperson added: &#8221; <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/all-about\/rnli\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">RNLI Beach Lifeguard Service<\/a> operates on many of Council\u2019s beaches during July and August, 10am \u2013 6pm daily, and they can offer first aid assistance and advice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage<\/strong> <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">and<\/strong> <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belfastlive.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=1342b3be-3db3-461a-a6b4-c60bfcaa13da&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"sign up to our daily newsletterLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">here.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#8220;These fish spend most of their time on the seabed close to shore, often submerged in the sand,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[5817,80195,1144,29102,139,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-346280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-causeway-coast-and-glens-borough-council","9":"tag-co-derry","10":"tag-northern-ireland","11":"tag-portrush","12":"tag-rnli","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115032290056117510","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}