It was confirmed that a barracuda was the creature responsible for biting a Japanese man while he was surfing at Phuket’s Kamala Beach on Wednesday, not a Blacktip Reef Shark as previously stated by a marine expert, according to Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodtong.
The governor said that the Andaman Fisheries Research and Development Center pointed out the tourist’s wounds are similar to those that would be caused by a barracuda, adding that residents in the area said they had never seen sharks near Kamala Beach.
“A village headman in Kamala confirmed that in the past ten years local residents, fishermen, boat operators, and tourists had never seen sharks in this area. Most of the time fishermen catch barracuda as they are used to make fish balls, and they are often found around Phuket,” Norraphat said.
“So it is believable that the tourist was bitten by a barracuda, not a shark,” he told The Phuket News.
On Wednesday, Keita Koshigoe, 37, ran to the beach for help after he had been bitten on his left foot by an unknown creature about 200 meters from the shore. He suffered from major swelling.
Local rescuers assisted him with first aid, but the tourist requested to go to the hospital himself.
“We believed that the barracuda saw bubbles on the water surface where the man was surfing and thought they were caused by a small fish and attacked,” Norraphat said.
He said the administration has instructed tour and diving operators to warn tourists not to swim far from the shore. Lifeguards are now paying extra attention for swimmers, and coastal patrol officers are checking along the beach.
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