Long Beach Township Police reported an unidentified male was transported to Southern Ocean Medical Center Thursday night after apparently stepping on a stingray.

Lt. Anthony Deely said officers responded to a 911 call with members of the Beach Haven First Aid Squad at approximately 8:30 p.m. They responded to the beach at 23^rd Street in the Spray Beach section of the township on Long Beach Island.

The victim apparently was in the surf when stung. Lifeguards had left the beach for the day at 5 p.m.

Deely said the department didn't have any more details of the incident as it was being treated as a first aid call and handled by the first aid squad.

Township Beach Patrol Supervisor Don Myers said the ray may have been a skate, a less poisonous relative of the stingray, which is common in the area.

“Neither is aggressive and most people who get stung step on their body or right on the barbed tail,” said Myers.

To avoid getting stung in an area where skates may be present, Myers said you should shuffle along in the water rather than stride.

“The shuffling motion creates vibrations in the water that will cause the skate to move if the are lying on or buried in the sand,” he said.    

A type of ray has been seen often during the past week in parts of Point Pleasant Beach. Eyewitnesses have reported to Patch that they saw numerous large rays in the ocean at the Maryland Avenue Beach and police said there was a report of rays and skates near the Manasquan Inlet on Thursday. However, the rays in the area may be cosenow rays which are not dangerous to humans.