Stingrays are a fact of life along the coast, but with some minor precautions they can be easily avoided. Capt. Ronnie Daniels has been wading for over 25 years and has never stepped on a stingray.
The primary way to avoid stepping on a gray is to shuffle your feet instead of picking up your feet as you would on a normal stroll down the beach.
“Most of the time a stingray realizes you’re there before you realize they’re there, and they’re swimming the other direction,” Daniels explained. “Every now and then they’ll stay buried up, but the shape is totally different (than a flounder). A stingray is going to look pink or grey, they’re not spotted on their back so they’re not going to blend in near as well (as a flounder).”
You will cover a lot of ground while floundering and get tired due to the changing bottom composition. But stay focused on what is in front of you, and always shuffle your feet. In most of the stingray incidents reported, the victim of a ray’s stinger admitted they were walking normally and not shuffling their feet.