Please Read If Going Scuba/snorkling In Grand Cayman

[Bigdasher]

Firstly, I am not scaremongering, I wish I had known about the following before we went scuba diving with a reputable company (often mentioned on this board). As this incident will be investigated by the Dept of the Environment, I am not naming the company

 

I will be as brief as possible.

 

On our tour, we went snorkeling at the sandbar. Our guide said that he would show us a Moray eel. Which he did. To cut a long story short, guide was then attacked by eel, and substained horrific injuries - and I mean horrific- to his arm. My children inches away from eel. They saw it all happen.

We get guide back onto boat, guide now semi consious. Another guide from another boat comes over, and tells us, that our company is sending a boat out to pick up injured guide. Mutiny ensues....insist that relief guide ( and I don't even know what company he was from) start boat and meet rescuers half way. It was the worst half hour, my group couldn't believe that a coastguard or sea rescue weren't being set out. Guide was in severe pain.

Eventually, meet with "rescue" boat. Guide manhandled over ( again, they were clueless as to how to deal with injury). Boat speeds off. We are left with relief guide, who tells us, we are going to continue with planned tour.

 

"oh well"...we think, and get on with it as best we can. No choice to stop the tour, and the stingray city visit went ahead, somewhat lackluster.

 

When I got home, I looked on the internet, to see if there was mention of the attack. There wasn't. To my horror, I found that this wasn't a one-off incident.

 

Our tour company knew that this eel is dangerous, and has attacked several times before:

 

http://www.caymannetnews.com/2005/05/837/feeding.shtml

 

Despite warnings from the Department of the Environment, tour companies are still visiting the area, and feeding this fish.

 

 

I now discover that the standard procedure is to call the DoE

Maritime Unit on channel 16 for assistance, but if they do that it becomes

an official incident. What relief guide did was try to keep it

quiet by calling the tour office on a cell phone rather than involve the

emergency services.

 

I have since found out that in theory it is mandatory for the boat to have qualified first aiders onboard but the locals tend to ignore this. Our guide may have been qualified in first aid, but our boat was sent out with just one guide on it.

 

This incident was completely avoidable. I have not addressed the issues of shocked children, the fact that this eel was inches from them, the panic that broke out on in the water and on the boat.

 

Please, please, do not go anywhere near this eel. I am so lucky that my kids weren't attacked. The injuries that it inflicted were incredible.

 

I have it on the highest authority that there have been

"numerous reports of moray eel attacks in recent weeks but no one

wants to talk to us about them".

 

Bigdasher

[JLC@SD]

Our tour company knew that this eel is dangerous, and has attacked several times before:

 

http://www.caymannetnews.com/2005/05/837/feeding.shtml

Bigdasher

Probably the reason he was named Psycho......:)

 

No trip is worth endangering people....including the guide. We were in Tahiti....Bora Bora.....in the water......and our guide fed sharks out of his hand. We didn't know he was going to do it until he started to feed them.

[Bigdasher]

I am not scaremongering, I wish I had known about the following before we went scuba diving with a reputable company (often mentioned on this board). As this incident will be investigated by the Dept of the Environment, I am not naming the company

 

I will be as brief as possible.

 

On our tour, we went snorkeling at the sandbar. Our guide said that he would show us a Moray eel. Which he did. To cut a long story short, guide was then attacked by eel, and substained horrific injuries - and I mean horrific- to his arm. My children inches away from eel. They saw it all happen.

We get guide back onto boat, guide now semi consious. Another guide from another boat comes over, and tells us, that our company is sending a boat out to pick up injured guide. Mutiny ensues....insist that relief guide ( and I don't even know what company he was from) start boat and meet rescuers half way. It was the worst half hour, my group couldn't believe that a coastguard or sea rescue weren't being set out. Guide was in severe pain.

Eventually, meet with "rescue" boat. Guide manhandled over ( again, they were clueless as to how to deal with injury). Boat speeds off. We are left with relief guide, who tells us, we are going to continue with planned tour.

 

"oh well"...we think, and get on with it as best we can. No choice to stop the tour, and the stingray city visit went ahead, somewhat lackluster.

 

When I got home, I looked on the internet, to see if there was mention of the attack. There wasn't. To my horror, I found that this wasn't a one-off incident.

 

Our tour company knew that this eel is dangerous, and has attacked several times before:

 

http://www.caymannetnews.com/2005/05/837/feeding.shtml

 

Despite warnings from the Department of the Environment, tour companies are still visiting the area, and feeding this fish.

 

 

I now discover that the standard procedure is to call the DoE

Maritime Unit on channel 16 for assistance, but if they do that it becomes

an official incident. What relief guide did was try to keep it

quiet by calling the tour office on a cell phone rather than involve the

emergency services.

 

I have since found out that in theory it is mandatory for the boat to have qualified first aiders onboard but the locals tend to ignore this. Our guide may have been qualified in first aid, but our boat was sent out with just one guide on it.

 

This incident was completely avoidable. I have not addressed the issues of shocked children, the fact that this eel was inches from them, the panic that broke out on in the water and on the boat.

 

Please, please, do not go anywhere near this eel. I am so lucky that my kids weren't attacked. The injuries that it inflicted were incredible.

 

I have it on the highest authority that there have been

"numerous reports of moray eel attacks in recent weeks but no one

wants to talk to us about them".

 

Bigdasher

[budaman]

When we did a dive there last Oct, we were briefed by the Divemaster that occasionally a moray might wander into our group and if it did to immediately drop your arms to your sides so as not to look like you are offering food. I am sure as more people have fed the eel, it has become a more frequent visitor.....and yes it did visit our group. Morays are not generally aggresive.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[CVL105]

When we were in Grand Caymen our guide was trying to get the eel to come out from under his rock. Not sure if it was the same eel that our guide was enticing out of the rock, but boy is this a sad story. Our guide was also rubbing the belly of the "local" sand shark and was feeding it too.

 

I hope your guide and all others that have been hurt by this eel are ok. And I hope others learn the valuable lesson of leaving the animals alone and let them enjoy their habitat. Be a spectator not a participant in the ocean.

[Jandcbrown]

The people were getting way to close and friendly with the Morray Eel we saw. We were snorkeling the reef close to the Stingray Sandbar. Our guides were being very careful with it. The Eel was getting way to comfortable with people/guides and kept coming out very close to everyone. Our guide would put his flipper fin in front of it to keep it back....he obviously was aware of it's potential. We backed up as it came forward...as I have seen photos of eel attacks and want no part of them. As for enjoying the eel from a safer distance...it was awesome! I see the eel as a much different situation than the stingrays. Although both are wild animals...an eel is nothing to wrecken with.

[michaelaz]

Thats why I am a member of DAN, Divers Alert Network. That 21k charter jet to wisconsin would have been covered as well as other accidents.

[Jacqueline]

I feel sorry for the eel. What a bunch of jack*sses... I have never had trouble with a moray eel., but then again, I have never subjected an animal to what I read in that article. It is disgusting that the guides interfere with wildlife. Of course stingray city wouldnt exist if they weren't fed on a regular basis either.

It seems that this eel was good for business. I'm glad he fought back. Maybe they will think twice before trying to lure him out again. I have never had to keep my hands to my side around moray eels. It seems that Psycho and his bretheren in Grand Cayman have gotten very used to a "hand out".

All round bad practice, including not having the requisite first aid onboard and a lack of adequate emergency protocol.

[river_sand_bar2]

I JUST joined DAN yesterday because of this thread I read the yesterday...

 

Cruising and diving in 1 week and NO WAY would I want to be stuck there like that.

[nvj811]

We have just made reservations for our stingray city, snorkeling and rum point with Nativeways. Needless to say, this thread makes me a bit nervous as we are traveling with our children. Which tour group did you use? TIA!

[bruce-r]

I JUST joined DAN yesterday because of this thread I read the yesterday...

 

Cruising and diving in 1 week and NO WAY would I want to be stuck there like that.

You won't regret the small price you payed for the peace of mind DAN insurance provides.

[river_sand_bar2]

Thanks Bruce.... And hopefully it will be something we never need..:o

[Bigdasher]

We have just made reservations for our stingray city, snorkeling and rum point with Nativeways. Needless to say, this thread makes me a bit nervous as we are traveling with our children. Which tour group did you use? TIA!

 

As the Dept of the Environment on Grand Caymen are looking into the matter,it is probably not a wise move for me to name the company we booked with.

It was not Nativeways - HOWEVER - I have read reviews from people who have been out with Nativeways and they got to see the eel and touch it. What is more, these reviews were published after the attack on the child in 2005. Does anyone take any notice of these accidents?

 

All I can advise is make sure that you have 2 guides on board (apparently its a legal requirement), and that you don't go anywhere near moray eels.

As I footnote, I was advised yesterday that our guide will never regain full use of his arm, and may have to have a third operation next week.

BD

[drew sailbum]

Moray eels, and there are several, populate the reefs that are commonly used as snorkle stops on Stingray Sandbar trips. There are several different areas and several different eels.

 

Moray eels have rather poor eyesight. A few of the eels have noticiable cataracts which limits their otherwise poor vision.

 

Rather than relying on vision, eels use a keen sense of smell to seek out food. In the absence of human interaction, this hunting is usually carried out at night.

 

Eels normally present with an open mouth. Some people interpret this as the animal warning of an impending strike. This is simply not true. Eels are a true fish, and must continuously pump water over their gills in order to breathe. The baring of teeth in a open mouth is ismply a consequence of the eel moving water over its gills.

 

Incidents have happened, though rarely, over several years. It is an uncommon occurance. Following one of these incidents referenced in this thread, the eel in question was moved without being harmed.

 

Emergencies at sea, whether onboard the cruise ship or on a day charter, should be handled according to procedures outlined by the vessel's operator. I am unaware of any official reporting obligation, and should emergency services not be needed I would not expect a report to be filed.

 

Should an incident occur in which emergency services are required, a vessel may make contact in several ways. Contact via VHF radio with a shop is a common method, with the shop relaying information to 9-1-1 or other emergency services as necessary. Of course a vessel may directly contact 9-1-1 via a cell phone or VHF radio, subject to the ability to transmit and receive appropriately clear messages.

 

Cayman does not have a Coast Guard. The Royal Cayman Islands Police has a Marine Unit and the Department of Environment has a Marine Enforcement Unit. These services focus primarily on police matters, and may not have a boat in the vicinity. Cayman does not have a marine based emergency medical unit, nor a rescue helicopter for marine evacuations.

 

For emergency requiring immediate dispatch of police, fire, or emergency medical response in the Cayman Islands dial 9-1-1. State your location and type of emergency and answer the questions posed by the operator.

[jwmcq]

Wow! I saw "Psycho" in 2004 (with Nativeway tours). Our tour guide showed us where he lived and had us stay way back (about 20 feet) while he lured him out with food. I did get amazing pictures, but I was not very close to him at all. I had no idea that he was this dangerous. We did have at least 2 guides - maybe even 3 on board.

[neverdonethat]

Amazing. I've seen morays a few times and have never given them a second thought. I thought attacking eels were just from science fiction movies. Thanks for the warning Bigdasher.