HARVEY CEDARS – A local fisherman found himself stung by an unlikely sea creature.
The Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol reported a fisherman was stung by a cownose ray at 3:30 p.m. at the 73rd Street Beach Sunday. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“Cownose rays are one of the most docile species of ray and stings are rare but painful. The barb with venom is close to the body and located near the base of the dorsal fin,” the patrol reported via Facebook. “This makes the barb not easy to get to.”
According to Oceana.org, this species of ray are predatory foragers “that specializes on shelled, invertebrate prey including clams, snails, lobsters, oysters and crabs.” These moderately sized, shy rays generally swim at the water’s surface, and pose little threat to humans.
It was unclear from reports how the fisherman came into contact with the ray.
The beach patrol was assisted by the Harvey Cedars Police Department and Barnegat Light First Aid Squad.
