Published February 22nd, 2010
Alarm as Box Jellyfish Kills Tourist on Langkawi
I had many lavish dinners in restaurant with relatives and friends this Chinese New Year. Of all dishes, the one I enjoyed most is the infamous shark fin soup. Loved by me, detest by some.
While some people swear that it is the apex of cruelty (some even say it is despicable and shameful) to cut off their fins and throw them back into the ocean still alive, I’d say it is the way to do it.
“Why only eat the fins? Why don’t you eat the whole fish?” I heard a loud scream of disagreement from someone.
“Why don’t you try some shark meat?” I screams back.
Don’t you dare pretend you know about sharks when you have not even tasted it. I’ll bet you haven’t even seen a real shark finning footage in the process. National Geographic’s post WW2 grainy black and white footage don’t count. People got finned too back then.
You just swallow and believe everything the ultra conservationist WWF says in their ask-for-donation-save-the-sharks-they’re-losing-their-fins pamphlets. Pictures on the internet shows finning of shark fins averaging the size of an A4 paper. I always wonder why the fins in my soup comes in the size of my nose.
Sharks feed on other small marine animals, they are at the top of the food chain. Sharks can sense blood from a mile away. Sharks thrown into the ocean after finning feed their hungry brethen. This is also a way to prevent them sharks to attack other endangered species like the penguins, baby sea lions and notably the sea turtles.
Let’s hammer it into the thick numbskull of some that while live finning of sharks are traditionally practised, they are rarely done in the present. Marine sanctuaries/farms/fisheries are created wherever possible with ways to successfully and sustainably cultivate sharks for consumption so that the value for wild shark fins and cartiliage drop significantly (the price for wild shark fins rocketed instead). And eventually ban the shark fishing in the wild throughout the world.You will notice the raw shark fins from the supermarket shelves has shrink in size and price. The commonly cultivated species is the common reef sharks that is small to medium in size. They grow and breed like rabbits.
Everyone should eat more shark fins soup. Kill more sharks before they kill other endangered animals, notably sea turtles that feeds on jelly fish. If you really care, use less plastic bags that sea turtles will mistaken as jelly fish and dies from choking on them.
By Alan Morison
Wednesday, February 3, 2010THE DEATH of a Swedish tourist on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, apparently from a box jellyfish sting, has heightened concerns about swimmers’ safety throughout the region.
Swedish media reports have focused on the death, which is likely to alarm some visitors to Malaysia and Thailand.
Carina Lofgren, 45, died a horrible death in just five seconds, according to reports from Pantai Cenang, a beach resort on Langkawi.
The Swedish Embassy in Kuaka Lumpur confirmed today to Phuketwan the circumstances of the woman’s death.
Aftonbladet, one of Sweden’s most popular newspapers, reported that Mrs Lofgren was enjoying a farewell swim with her husband, Ronny, when the jellyfish wrapped its tentacles around her.
The couple had been taking a holiday in Thailand and Malaysia, renting an apartment on Langkawi close to the water, with Ronny’s sister and her husband.
The newspaper reported that the four went for a late-night swim, then: Carina’s voice suddenly cut like a knife through the night.
Her husband was quoted as saying: ”She screamed like a stuck pig and started pulling on my legs. Then we realised that it was a jellyfish of some sort. We tried to pull the tentacles away.
”It took four or five seconds, then she sank down, lifeless.”
They carried Carina to the beach, the newspaper reported, where. Ronny’s brother, who had worked as an ambulance medic, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
”He did CPR on her, maybe for four or five minutes. Then I took over. But I knew at once that she could not be saved. She died in my arms,” Ronny told Aftonbladet.
Paramedics arrived after 15 minutes. ”One of them said, ‘Oh, jellyfish,’ and shook his head. They tried to revive her, then they shook their heads again.”
A week earlier, a German woman had been stung on the beach, the Swedish tourists were told. Yet there were no warning signs, the newspaper reported.
”They are clearly afraid of losing tourists. I would not ever swim in the ocean down there again,” the dead woman’s husband is quoted as saying.
The couple have two adult children and later in February would have marked their 26th anniversary, Aftonbladet reported.
According to Swedish marine biologist Lars Henroth, the woman was probably stung by a box jellyfish, named for their cube-shaped body. Box jellyfish have the reputation for being the most toxic creatures on earth.
The Phuket Marine Biology Centre has led the way in researching all jellyfish in the region, noting that instances of contacts with box jellyfish appear to be increasing.
A young Swedish tourist died from box jellyfish stings off Koh Lanta in Krabi in April, 2008.
Resorts and lifeguards around the Andaman region now keep vinegar handy. Vinegar is the only known treatment for jellyfish stings.
While smaller varieties of box jellyfish have been discovered at a bay on Phuket’s east coast, there have been no confirmed sightings at Phuket’s popular west coast beaches.
Experts in Australia, where the deadly ”boxie” has rapidly enlarged its territory, believe it is probably only a matter of time before sightings are made on the Andaman coast.
Jellyfish everywhere are increasing in number, possibly in response to overfishing and the retreat of natural predators, including turtles.
Miserable and Irritatable