Man Fishing On Jersey Shore Stung By Stingray; Officials Call It A Rare Occurrence
SEASIDE PARK, NJ (CBSNewYork) - A man is recovering after being stung by a stingray at the Jersey Shore.
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The 22-year-old man was stung Thursday at the southern end of Island Beach State Park.
Seaside Park beach patrol captain Joe Gamalca says a stingray attack is like being struck by lightning. In 35 years on the beach, he says he's never seen it happen to a swimmer.
Gamalca spoke with the man at the hospital and says the man was fishing when he was stung. "He was all the way at the end and had caught a stingray and while he was trying to release it, the tail of the stingray hit him in the kneecap," said Gamalca.
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A stingray's venom can cause swelling and extreme pain. "He said it's the worse pain he's ever felt," Gamalca.
This particular stingray, identified as a bullnose ray, can be eight to ten feet across.
They're typically docile and not aggressive. They avoid humans and stay on the bottom of the ocean floor farther off the beach. Officials think the warm water my have attracted it closer to the shore.
On Wednesday, stingrays were also spotted off nearby Seaside Heights.
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