By Aabigayle McIntosh

The Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer is seeking to allay the fears or resident assuring that the venomous box jellyfish is not found in Antigua waters.

Dr Tricia Lovell is providing clarity following an incident over a week ago where someone was apparently stung by a jellyfish while swimming off Pigeon Point.

The symptoms exhibited included back pain, sweating profusely, tremors, high blood pressure, and difficulty breathing.

“I’m not disputing he was stung by something. I can’t say what he was stung by. I would have to see the organism that stung him,” Dr Lovell said.

“What I would say is there are many organisms that can cause similar symptoms. The Portuguese Man of War, for instance, other types of jellyfish that are not the sea wasps. The box jellyfish could also produce similar symptoms. Dr. Lovell assures the highly venomous box jellyfish species found primarily in the Indo-Pacific and in Northern Australia is not present here,” she added.

The Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer started further that the box jellyfish isnot a single species but a class of organisms with over 40 species in various parts of the world.

She indicates there are some species of box jellyfish in the Caribbean. However, their venom isn’t as potent as the Indo-Pacific variety.

“So, the individual could also have been having anaphylactic kind of symptoms as well. He could have been having an allergic reaction to the sting,” she said.

She is therefore urging residents to be cautious and vigilant when swimming at the beach.