KNOW!! the lesser WEEVER fish, (Pic's)

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:04 pm

The pic shows a lesser Weever, which lives in shallow water, (The greater Weever lives in deep water and grows much bigger) This fish grows to about 4 inches, this particular specimen was around that lengh. strange as it may seem the sting from the lesser weever is worse than that from the greater. The fish burrows under the sand until only its dorsal fin is showing, and only comes out when its prey is close enough for it to grab it in its mouth which has some wicked looking teeth. The weever has no swim bladder and is a naff swimmer which is why it hardly moves. The sting in the dorsal fin is used as a means of defence, if a shadow is cast over the fish it will raise its fin. The sting from the weever is described as excrutiating, and the treatment though simple is not always readily available on a secluded beach. If stung (And they can sting even when dead) you should place the affected limb in hot water, as hot as can be tolerated, over 40 centigrade, for 30 to 90 minutes. Sometimes the spines break off in the foot etc, these must be removed before the pain can be eased. The sting has been known to induce heart attacks, and shock, though usually it just causes pain, redness and swelling, its also possible for infection to set in so the site should be checked for a few days.
Well thats the gist of it, I dont think i left out anything important. This was caught off the pier wall at Bridlington, along with about 50 others.
A few symptoms i missed out.
•Severe pain, itching, swelling, heat, redness, numbness, tingling, nausea, vomiting, joint aches, headaches, abdominal cramps, lightheadedness, and tremors may develop.

•More severe reactions involve abnormal heart rhythms, weakness, paralysis, shortness of breath, seizures, decreased blood pressure, and episodes of passing out. (Death may occur. In rare cases, usually very young or very old, or with heart problems etc)

Member Joined: May 05, 2009 Posts: 89 Location: portsmouth

Great post, i for 1 am glad you posted this as i thought they looked different to those. happy

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:03 pm

You and me both, its amazing what the imagination conjures up. its probably one of the most easily recognisable fish once you know what it looks like, or once seen never forgotten. Cheers..Mick

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:22 am

Forgot to mention, while fishing Brid a few weeks back, a guy next to me caught one, he knew what it was and used a cloth doubled over to hold it, that was no good, the spines went through the cloth and just managed to pierce his finger, apart from being in agony he lost the use of his hand for quite a while. Use gloves, (the type used in industry etc) or if using a cloth fold into a quarter at least, when i handle them to get the hook out i hold it from underneath so i can see the spines and know where they are. Cheers..Mick

Member Joined: Jul 13, 2009 Posts: 46

I just cut the hook length- apparently the french use them to make the stock for Bouillabasse - although that might be the greater weever

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:46 am

Hi Carol, welcome to the site, (ive not said it yet) your right, its the greater weever, you can find them in some fishmongers here too. Cheers..Mick

Member Joined: Jul 13, 2009 Posts: 46

thanx for the welcome

Occasional Joined: Feb 22, 2009 Posts: 116

good post mick, they can be confusing to alot of anglers, more so later in the year when the pin whiting start to show, under the light of your head torch they look very similar at first glance with their dorsal fin laid flat,

there's an old fisherman's tale that the pain doesn't go till the tide recedes twice big grin

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:20 pm

No problem, you just wait for it to go out here, then a quick boat ride across the pond, and wait till it goes out there, only half the time. winking

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:11 pm

During the peak season We get around 15 to 20 people stung each year at one of my local beaches sad

ouch
Cheers
mrix

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:35 pm

Just out of curiosity , how common are they?
I go to Tywyn as often as I can and one of the first things I noticed on the beach are the signboards all along the beachfront warning of these little devils. suprise

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:44 pm

Put it this way, my brother and a guy next to him caught over 90 in 2 hours at Bridlington. the worst month seems to be august for stings, but this could be because its the main holiday season and therefore more people in the sea paddling. any sandy beach will have these critters, on some beaches where the waters clear you can see the dorsal fins sticking up, always wear shoes of some kind in the water and be careful sitting or laying down, as you cover a greater area of sand in these positions. if your careful you shoudnt have a problem, just dont put skin to sand if you can help it. Cheers..Mick

PS, if you see people shrimping and they suddenly start cutting something up its likely a weever. they disturb them as they push the net along.

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:20 pm

WOW , i've been pretty lucky then. I normally fish in short pants and barefoot and wade out waste high to cast. I'll have to make my old trainers a part of my fishing box from now , me thinks. big grin

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:17 pm

Hi, you could get those shoes the windsurfers and the like use, light, easily packed away, slip on, and just the job, plus cheap. big grin

Cheers..Mick

Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:34 pm

Great bit of Info & Pics there Mick well done mate.

Like dazzerpfc81 I never thought they actually looked like that? To be honest I thought they were more of a flat fish lol

Cheers macer big grin