Fish complaint won’t hurt tourism

New Zealand’s biggest -selling weekly magazine Woman’s Day features a real life article this week that portrays holidaying in Rarotonga in an unpleasant light. The magazine alleges its current total sales are 119,537 and that it has subscribers throughout the world. The article titled Stonefish horror; ‘My dream holiday almost killed me,’ is about a tourist Paula Buick who came to Rarotonga on holiday and what happened to her when she stepped on a stone fish. In the two page article complete with color photos Buick claims the encounter has scarred her for life. In the article Buick also talks about locals poaching kina and smashing coral with hammers, of the staff at the up market tropical resort treating her injury with vinegar and coconut cream. The long delay and going into shock by the time the ambulance arrived. No one at the hospital knowing what could have caused her injury until a Doctor arrived and how astounded she is about the lack of information in Rarotonga about the dangerous fish.
On sighting and reading the article Gerald McCormack from the National Heritage Trust pointed out that for starters the photo depicting a Stone fish was in fact a Scorpion fish which is less venomous and that by the look of the woman’s injury she was stung by a Scorpion fish. Both fish are common in our waters and is prevalent in other countries. Mc McCormack confirmed that a visitor died from complications arising from a stone fish in June last year as also mentioned in the article and that the only other fatality he knew of was a child in 1938.
McCormack who has written several articles on the stone fish said that the best way to avoid an injury is to shuffle when walking through the water as this will cause the fish to move away.
“Stomping through the sea and on a fish will cause it to react by defending itself with its needle sharp spines.” A spokesperson from the national hospital said that stonefish stings are common with locals and tourists alike and that most injuries occur on the foot. The treatment the hospital administers is to soak the injury in hot water, followed by a tetanus injection, antibiotics and painkillers. He also said that while the injury is extremely painful it is very rarely life threatening and the sooner one gets to the hospital for treatment the better. The article which appears to be a negative strike against holidaying in the Cook Islands will according to John Dean the outgoing CEO of Tourism have no impact on our visitor numbers. He also went onto say that at some point visitors to the island must take responsibility for themselves.