Be aware of hidden dangers around water - A tiny fish could also kill you.
A woman in Australia mauled by a coral reef fish after 10 seconds in the water has required a skin graft for the gruesome wound.
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Julie Pochet, from Port Douglas in tropical far north Queensland, had just dived into the water at a local beach on November 26 when a fish bumped into her ribs. When the fish swam towards her, she reached her hand out of curiosity and it attacked, taking a chunk out of her hand.
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Pochet immediately jumped out of the water and went to the tap to rinse it. She also asked a tourist to run to the restaurant to get pepper — an old cook's trick — to stop the blood from flowing out. But the bite was so severe that it had damaged her nerve ends. She ended up getting a skin graft in the hospital.
Triggerfish/Designed Photo
Pochet was wearing a coral swimsuit at the time and thinks the fish may have confused her with live coral. She described the creature as a dark-colored fish that looked like a wrasse and was the size of a parrotfish.
Pufferfish/Designed Photo
Professor David Bellwood, a coral fish expert, suspects the fish was either a triggerfish or a puffer fish. Both species are known to bite humans and are common in tropical shallow waters. He warns swimmers to be extra careful.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The number of fish on the government's overfishing list sunk to a new low last year in a sign of healthy U.S. fisheries, federal officials said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released an updated analysis of American fisheries late last week via its annual "Status of the Stocks" report, which provides an assessment of the populations of the seafood species fishermen catch and customers buy. The report states that 94% of fish stocks are not subject to overfishing, which is slightly better than a year ago.
The U.S. was able to remove several important fish stocks from the overfishing list, NOAA said in a statement. They include the Gulf of Maine and Cape Hatteras stock of Atlantic mackerel and the Gulf of Mexico stock of cubera snapper.
NOAA's report arrives as international governments and non-governmental organizations have tried to crack down on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing around the worldwide ocean. In Europe, the European Commission has worked to prioritze detering unsustainable fishing practices.
The removal of species from the overfishing list shows the U.S. is making progress, said Rick Spinrad, NOAA's administrator.
“By ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks, we are strengthening the value of U.S. fisheries to the economy, our communities and marine ecosystems,” Spinrad said.
The U.S. has made progress in removing fish species from the overfishing list in recent previous years, also. The overfishing list reflects species that have an unsustainably high harvest rate.
NOAA also keeps a list of overfished stocks. Those are species that have a total population size that is too low. The agency said that number also fell slightly last year. More than 80% of fish stocks are not overfished, the agency said in its report.
NOAA said it was able to remove Atlantic coast bluefish and a Washington coast stock of coho salmon from the overfished list. The agency said it also added a few species, including Mid-Atlantic summer flounder, to the lists.
Commercial fishermen harvested more than 8 billion pounds of seafood valued at nearly $6 billion in 2022, the agency said.
FILE - A juvenile coho salmon is held by a fish biologist at the Lostine River, March 9, 2017, in Lostine, Ore. The number of fish on the government's overfishing list sunk to a new low in 2023, a sign of healthy U.S. fisheries, federal officials said. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)
