How trawler man gave deadly sea snake the flick and lived!
by ALAN LANDER TRAWLERMAN
Glenn Hughes can count himself lucky – he gave a
deadly sea snake the flick, so to speak, and survived to tell the tale. Around 5.30am yesterday, Glenn and his workmates were sorting through a net-catch off
Fraser Island, on Mooloolaba trawler
Amanda Jane. "
We were sorting 'product', and saw one sea snake which we threw out, but we didn't see this other one," he said. "
We continued sorting, then she banged me in the finger – she was a lively little sucker."
The snake actually took the end of Glenn's thumb in its mouth and bit, but did not inject venom. "
It felt like two sharp needles. My reaction was to flick it. It landed in the chute and slid overboard," he said. "
I was bleeding, I pushed blood out of my finger, and told Steve (Walker) the skipper – he organised a rescue. I put a tourniquet on. That's what you do with a snake bite. But the snake determines itself whether it will inject venom or not. It decided not to whack me, it seems. I was pretty lucky."
Glenn, 38, was airlifted by the
Energex rescue helicopter to Nambour Hospital yesterday morning. Sea snakes were not common in local waters, he said from the emergency ward where he was under observation.
"
We see more of them north of Gladstone, and up the Whitsundays." Glenn said he had had a few run-ins with other sea creatures while emptying nets, but not snakes. "
There are a few risks out there – sinking, for example – but you get sea dragons and stonefish. You can get 'happy moments' (Black Spinefoot) – and they're not happy moments, believe me – and you can get hit by a 'bearded ghoul' – they can hit you pretty hard."
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