The largest jellyfish boom ever measured!

Jellyfish Take Over an Over-Fished Area

Critics of the fishing industry have long predicted that if over-fishing continues for much longer, "junk species" like jellyfish will start filling up the vacancies.

Until recently, there was no evidence that the prediction would come true. But along the coast of Southern Africa, famously productive fisheries have crashed in recent years. In a new paper, English scientists say the spot on the food chain long occupied by these fish has now been filled by the largest jellyfish boom ever measured.

These jellyfish are said to be so dense that they cause trawling nets to burst at the seams.

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Jellyfish Invasion Puts Sting on Europe Beaches

Huge numbers of stinging jellyfish have attacked bathers in the Mediterranean this summer, providing further evidence that the gelatinous creatures are becoming more abundant in European seas.

Researchers say the invasion is the result of a combination of climate change and overfishing of the jellyfish's natural predators.

The trend is likely to worsen as water temperatures continue to rise, the scientists say.

While the species reaching European beaches aren't considered lethal to humans, some like the purple jellyfish have a very painful sting that can cause severe swelling and an allergic reaction.

The Spanish Red Cross is reported to have treated more than 19,000 bathers for jellyfish stings in the famous Costa Brava resort region alone.

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Atlantic swimmers dodge jellyfish

BOSTON, MA, United States (UPI) -- Jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war are showing up in unusual numbers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean this summer.

Swimmers in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have felt the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war. While it is often referred to as a jellyfish, the man-of-war is actually a siphonophore, a colony of several types of polyp, including the sail that gives it its name and long tentacles.

The Providence Journal reports some public beaches in Rhode Island were closed on Sunday because of Portuguese man-of-war sightings. In Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times said, a 12-year-old boy bodysurfing on Saturday in Harwich, became the latest sting victim on the Cape.

Across the Atlantic in southwestern Norway, swimmers have been dodging large jellyfish that can inflict unpleasant stings. Aftenposten reports that the largest one reported this summer was about a 3 feet in diameter.

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Jellyfish invade O'ahu beaches

O'ahu beachgoers suffered yesterday through the third-largest box jellyfish influx in the past nine years.

The Ocean Safety Division staff closed Hanauma Bay at 11 a.m. At Waikiki Beach, staff treated 253 jellyfish stings by 1:30 p.m. The staff issued a box jellyfish advisory to local hotels warning their visitors to be cautious in the water yesterday and today. Lifeguards will walk Hanauma Bay starting at 7 a.m. today to see if they can open the beach.

Officials said the influx concentrated mostly in Waikiki, but also affected people in Ko Olina and around the island.

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Originally posted by kid301
Crap, it the freakin weather again. I am seriously trying to tell you guys, there is something coming, something BIG.

There is gonna be some really, really nasty storm because Jellyfish only do that before some really nasty storm hits land! Crap, I knew this would happen.

Some of you guys need to create some back up plans just in case I am not wrong. Plans that will provide you some food and alternate energy. Damn, I knew it coming.

[edit on 21/8/2006 by kid301]

because Jellyfish only do that before some really nasty storm hits land!