Thread: Portuguese man-of-war spotted in Phuket sea off three beaches

The sea off Nai Yang, Nai Thorn and Layan beaches in Phuket has been declared off-limits to swimmers by the Sirinart national park after Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish-like creatures have been spotted.
The creature has often been mistaken as a jellyfish. But it is siphonophore which is very poisonous. A sting by this creature causes extreme pain for the victim.

Meanwhile in neighbouring province of Krabi, the Tharnboke Khorani national park has closed off a waterfall in Ao Loek district for the safety of visitors following heavy rains.

Officials said that the water level at the waterfall has risen steadily and the water has turned brownish, making it unsafe to swim or frolic in the waterfall.

In Phra Saeng district of Surat Thani, water in Klong E-pan has burst its banks and starting to flood communities along the klong.

Several villagers have started moving their valuables to higher ground to avoid them from being damaged by flood water.

Portuguese man-of-war spotted in Phuket sea off three beaches - Thai PBS English News

Jeez , if Aus closed the beaches because of this little stinger they would never be open.
. Personal experience of being stung quite a few times snorkelling for abs and crayfish off Nsw beaches.
. It aint that bad.

Originally Posted by shaggersback

Jeez , if Aus closed the beaches because of this little stinger they would never be open.
. Personal experience of being stung quite a few times snorkelling for abs and crayfish off Nsw beaches.
. It aint that bad.

Yep. Bluebottles are a common enough phenomenon, though I would say the sting is unpleasant.

As kids, we used to enjoy stamping on the ones that have washed up and dried. pop!

Originally Posted by misskit

unsafe to swim or frolic

gosh frolics off

Portuguese man-of-war spotted in Phuket

I assumed this was pidgen english for the Portugese navy ship being docked for a few days

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

A Har Jim Lad. Eey beat me to it.






My ex was stung by one. If she goes into the ocean the marks on her arm still turn red and that is after 25 years. She said more painful than child birth.

Thats unusual for a bluebottle sting.
Ive had one all round my neck which burns and welts up but gone in a few hrs.
I wasnt meaning to say its not painfull , just not that big a deal to warrant closing beaches , unless they were in their hundreds.

Originally Posted by misskit

it is siphonophore which is very poisonous.

Venomous, surely? Who would eat one?!

Oh wait...


Clearly there are some nutters out there... and it's probably not poisonous, just grim.

I not wanna tangle with those big critters. The small ones are bad enough!

When scuba diving I wear a full body suit.. Even with that, once a tiny string of tentacles brushed my face and upper lip...ouch!

^^ This is a gimmick, like drinking snake venom (which your digestive juices neutralize).

Those jellyfish are probably ok to eat if you only crunch into the body. The poisonous parts are the tendrils.

^
Venomous; not poisonous, surely?

Should be piss easy to spot one of these and swim away. Can't see what all the fuss is about.