Beach Safety

To make your stay more enjoyable and fun here in Port Aransas follow this guide to help prevent yourself and your family against our marine life.

  • Check the beach at the water line for any marine life that has washed ashore, please DO NOT TOUCH! They can still be venomous even though they are not in the water.
  • If there are Jelly Fish or Man -O- War washed ashore, be careful when getting into the water, and try not to make contact with them.
  • When walking in the water, shuffle your feet. This will frighten the stingray, causing it to move out of the way, and lessen your chance of stepping on them.
Portuguese Man - O - War
Portuguese Man -O- War
Also called the bluebottle, can be found in the Gulf of Mexico. The Man -O- War has a gas-filled chamber that is used like a sail to propel it through the water. The Man -O- War is iridescent blue, with long tentacles that can reach up 180 ft in length. The tentacles contain a poison, which causes the stinging sensation.
jellyfish
Jelly Fish
Their bodies are hemispherical in shape, that are tough and thick, white, milky, or bluish in color. Their tentacles are short and fused into a tight bundle that contains a poison that will also cause a stinging sensation.
Treatment
  1. Immediately get away from the creature as they can sting many times.
  2. Protecting your hands with a towel scrape the tentacles and/or slimy deposits from the skin.
  3. Packing the area with wet sand, and then wash it away with water (repeat as needed) will also help remove the remnants of the jellyfish from your skin.
  4. Make a paste from Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer and rubbing alcohol, and then apply the mixture to the affected area. Unless affected area is the genital area, then use water to make the paste instead of rubbing alcohol.

The meat tenderizer applied to the affected area detoxifies the effects of the venom. Once the pain has subsided, wash away the paste, and treat area, as you would sunburn.
sting ray
Stingrays
Their bodies are hemispherical in shape, that are tough and thick, white, milky, or bluish in color. Their tentacles are short and fused into a tight bundle that contains a poison that will also cause a stinging sensation.
Treatment
  1. Immediately immerse the affected area in hot water (104° F - 108° F) , as hot as you can tolerate, for at least 30 minutes. If you have a Betadine (iodine) solution, pour a little bit into the hot water, which will help disinfect the wound.
  2. Thoroughly examine the area to see if the barb has been broken off into the wound. If the barb did break off into the wound you must see a physician to have the barb removed. Go to you local physician or the local Emergency Room.
  3. The wound should be cleaned and bandaged. Many physicians recommend antibiotic therapy, as this type of puncture wound is highly susceptible to infection.
  4. Be sure to watch for infection at the site of puncture. Fever, redness running up away from the area, unusual amount of swelling, or pain that does not go away over a period of time. If these signs occur or you believe you may have an infection, go see a physician.

Also a tetanus booster maybe required.
Hardhead & Gafftop Catfish

Both species of fish have poisonous barbed spines in their dorsal (top) and pectoral (side) fins.

If fins or barbed spines are impaled into skin, DO NOT REMOVE. Seek medical attention as soon as possible. These fins and spines must be surgically removed.

Treatment
  1. Immerse the affected body part in hot water (104 ° F - 108° F), or as hot as you can tolerate.
  2. See physician for removal of barbs, wound cleaning, antibiotics and tetanus booster.

    3. ******CAUTION******

People with known allergic reactions to any type of insect sting should be watched very carefully for 30 - 60 minutes. These venous marine creatures can produce symptoms from minor irritation at the site to severe respiratory distress.
Common Reactions:
Stinging, burning, redness, mild pain, and swelling to the affected area.
Uncommon Reactions:
If you have any one or more of the reactions call 911.
  • Throbbing pain extending in extremities, muscle cramps
  • Pale or blotchy looking skin
  • Tightness in the chest, associated with respiratory difficulty
  • Nausea and/or vomiting.
In This Section
Contact

Daniel Johnson
Director / Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Tyler Casbeer
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Albert Howie
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Paul Jackson
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Chris Morgan
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Erika Sanders
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Jarvis Sharp
EMT-Intermediate
Phone: 361-749-4405

John "Elliott" Tabor
Paramedic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Joe Torres
EMT-Basic
Phone: 361-749-4405

Brian Velandia
EMT-Intermediate
Phone: 361-749-4405

Joshua Veracruz
EMT-Basic
Phone: 361-749-4405