STONE COLD DEAD

MAYOR’S WAR AGAINST FISH

DIVERS will today search Evandale Lake for a potentially deadly stonefish, with Mayor Tom Tate promising to “kill him dead.”

The popular Bundall swimming lake was closed on Tuesday when a member of the public captured footage of the highly venomous fish.

This morning three Sea World divers will begin scouring the lake for the prehistoric looking fish as a part of Operation Stonefish launched by Gold Coast City Council.

“From the vision we have seen he is an adult,” Sea World director of marine sciences Trevor Long said.

“There could be others in there.”

Mr Long said the stonefish most likely entered the lake through the drainage system as small larvae and had lived in the lake its entire life.

Stonefish have 13 spines which are filled with potentially deadly venom.

A sting from the fish is excruciatingly painful and causes muscular paralysis, breathing difficulties and sometimes heart failure, according to the Queensland Museum website.

Divers will scour the rock walls of the lake but Mr Long is not certain the stonefish will be found.

“We will try but stonefish just by their physical nature are very camouflaged,” he said. “It’s a very big lake.”

The divers will also conduct a marine survey to determine what other wildlife make the water body home.

A shark sighting at Evandale Lake in 2011 closed the popular swimming hole but council did not find any trace of it.

The lake is not the only waterway to have the deadly fish swimming around.

“It’s not surprising at all,” Mr Long said.

“Stonefish are all through our canals as well.”

Mr Long said the stonefish live naturally in the Nerang River and despite Mayor Tate’s comments, if captured the Evandale Lake fish would be rehomed in the river.

The fish can often go undetected as they are quite “shy” creatures.

Cr Tate said council had immediately notified Sea World when they received the footage.

“We will leave no stone unturned,” he said.

“We will kill him dead.”