What you don’t see can’t hurt you, unless it’s a big shark

Paul_Bz says:

05:26am | 09/01/10

Aren’t Box Jellyfish and Irukandji the same thing?

Philip Crowley says:

09:19am | 09/01/10

Hello Paul_Bz. FYI, the Box Jellyfish is the common name for Chironex fleckeri and it is the most toxic, and the largest of the Cubozoans. The Irukandji is named after the Irukandji people whose home country encompasses an area of North Qld surrounding Cairns. It’s binomial name is Carukia barnesi. Malo Kingi is a recently discovered sub-species of Irukandji, however current knowledge on it is scant. Hope that helps.

jim says:

09:20am | 09/01/10

No, Box Jellyfish are huge about the size of a human and the Irukandji are tiny… about the size of a paperclip.

gerry says:

09:24am | 09/01/10

Would have been quicker to google that question Paul.

Rocket says:

09:37am | 09/01/10

Funny though how more people die each year in Australia from bee stings than either shark attacks or snake bites.

Box Jellyfish - Chironex fleckeri - the reason not to swim October -May in the far North of Australia (except on coral islands, as b.j. comes from estuaries)

Irukandji - much smaller jellyfish in swarms, thought until recently to cause severe pain but not death ( a few recent deaths near Mackay I think)

Wombat says:

11:29am | 09/01/10

Many, many years ago I worked as a diver collecting trocus shells on the Great Barrier Reef. I always found that it was far easier to spot the sharks that were watching other divers than those that were watching me. Sharks are very good at staying out of your field of vision.
One of the things that always makes me laugh is when people say: “But sharks won’t come into water that shallow, will they?”
It would be nice if they didn’t. Unfortunately sharks are comfortable swimming with their dorsal fin out of the water and their underside scraping the sea bed. So you can get a big shark cruising happily in half a metre of water.
The currents on the reef can be really fast. I was young, fit and an ex-competitive swimmer (like Thorpedo but much slower) but still I got swept off the side of the reef occasionally. Everything out on the deep side is super-sized. Now I am a fisherman and I like to target situations like this, where food is being washed off a rock shelf or platform. There is usually something waiting to eat it.
If you don’t want to get eaten, remember the basics:
Dawn and dusk are fish meal times.
Don’t swim in murky water. Sharks are more likely to have a nibble just to check you out.
Don’t swim at good fishing spots such as where an estuary opens into the sea.
Don’t swim in a fisherman’s berley trail.
But if you want to be 100% safe from sharks you will have to stay out of the water.

Mikko says:

12:19pm | 09/01/10

Er, no Paul. Box jelly are much bigger and have trailing tentacles up to several metres long which inflict incredible pain and can kill in minutes unless help is at hand. A young Gladstone girl survived such a sting last month while swimming at a popular spot more than 15km up stream in a local river, the Calliope. Bystanders administered CPR after her heart stopped, until an ambulance arrived and luckily she survived. Permanent scarring can result.
Irukandji may be related but are much smaller, about the size of a thumbnail, and the sting at first is only mildly painful. Intense pain, agitation and paralysis can follow after about 30 minutes and this has also proved fatal in some cases.
Given a choice I think I’d sooner meet up with a shark - white pointers excluded. In that case what you don’t see definitely could hurt you, big time.

thecricket says:

01:05pm | 09/01/10

No, different species.

Mikko says:

03:26pm | 09/01/10

You may also have heard about the bloke who caught a bull shark almost three metres long upstream in the Sunshine Coast’s Noosa River, not far from a popular kids’ swimming hole. They are one of the most dangerous species so you’d think they would say, well done mate. But according to reports, the authorities were investigating whether they should hit him with a fine for not releasing it as under a new Qld law introduced last year, any marine species over 2m long is protected, with provision for penalties up to $75k. How do they equate that with the sharks and other marine animals such as turtles, porpoises, dugong and even whales that are caught in shark nets or on drum lines along Queensland beaches throughout the year?
How does it equate with the game fishing industry targeting sail fish, marlin or other big pellagic species?
Another case of bureaucracy gone mad, or don’t do what I do, do what I say.

Sasha says:

05:37pm | 09/01/10

I’m also a survivor of a jellyfish rubbing me the wrong way.  Picnic Bay (Magnetic Island) when I was a kid.  My parents were also carrying vinegar for the fish & chips they were eating.  I think they threw some over me to stop me screaming after some tourist dragged me from the water.  I still remember the pain.

Daniel says:

07:47am | 11/01/10

Jaws 2 on Saturday night was fantastic wasnt it? I think people have to just look at the kill figures of sharks and then dont get too hysterical. Take precautions however not to swim in mornings or nights.

Liz says:

08:10am | 11/01/10

Well there you go.We intrude on their territory we expect to have repercussions don’t we? Tourists never seem to quite believe the signs sayoing “Don’t swim here” are for real, seem to live in some sort of Crocodile Dundee movie.

BigBob says:

09:12am | 11/01/10

I have never known a shark to get out on the beach and run up and eat us. We are land animals going into their domain. While we are prepared to swim ,we should occasionally expect to be eaten. How many people would run into the African Jungle, nearly naked, with no wepons, and NOT expect to be on big cats menu? Very few I suspect, yet we do that every day in the ocean. Instead of Big Cats, we face a far more silent and stealthy predator. Still, its our choice to swim and the sharks choice to eat us

~Rumpleteazer~ says:

12:24pm | 11/01/10

I love flake in a light batter with a sprinkle of rock salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Oh! they are protected now, what will I eat.?
I know, some lovely frozen barramundi from a little village in Vietnam or perhaps some healthy and delicious frozen Nile Perch.
The days of eating fresh fish from Aussie waters is numbered!

Mikko says:

05:55pm | 11/01/10

My favourite beach five minutes from home promises kilometers of uninterrupted golden sand, but requires wading or swimming across a tidal creek for access. The authorities have done the right thing by erecting signs warning of strong rips, marine stingers and crocodiles. I’ll have to suggest they add bull sharks to the list as some tourists still venture across, but I guess there’s room to share if you’re feeling adventurous.