Marine animals

Most marine animals do no harm unless they are threatened or touched. Most injuries resulting from underwater life result in harmless skin lesions, but when wounds occur, they often heal with difficulty. Sometimes a foreign body is left behind (such as a sea urchin sting), or a bacterial infection occurs, and occasionally poison is released. Serious injuries or fatal complications are rare.

Do not touch anything underwater: not only will you avoid injuries that way, but by doing so you will not damage fragile marine life.

Corals 

• Can cause itchy eruptions, sometimes blisters.
• If you hurt yourself on them, skin wounds can occur that heal with difficulty.
• Fire coral is not a coral but a polyp. They can cause hives and sometimes blisters.

Sponges

Sponges can cause skin rashes. 

Jellyfish 

Read more about jellyfish and first aid for jellyfish bites. 

Anemones

Anemones can cause skin rashes or blisters.

Fish

Most fish are harmless. Some fish may bite when they feel threatened such as moray eels and trigger fish. Sharks almost never attack, except in a few exceptional places. Stingrays (video on stingray sting prevention) and Pieterman fish only sting as a defence, for example when you accidentally step on them. Some fish are poisonous such as stonefish (in Australia and Indonesia), scorpionfish, lionfish.

Starfish

Thornback has poisonous spines. 

Sea snails

Some sea snails can be poisonous, for example cone (cone snail).

Sea urchins 

Spines can easily break off and remain in the wound.

Cuttlefish

A bite from a blue-ringed octopus can release venom. This only happens when the animal feels threatened.

Sea snakes 

• Can be venomous and deadly. 
• They occur In Asia and Australia.

Where are these animals found?

• Most venomous marine animals live in tropical waters.
• Jellyfish, anemones and polyps are found worldwide.
• Pieterman fish also occur in Europe.
• The Portuguese Warship is found throughout the tropics, but also in the Mediterranean Sea and sporadically even in the North Sea.
• The box jellyfish is found in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
• Stonefish are found in Australia and Indonesia.
• Sea snakes are found only in the coastal areas of Asia and Australia.