British Beaches, Seas Awash In Jellyfish - Reuters

[hatrack]

LONDON - "An army of jellyfish has invaded the seas around Britain, prompting calls by biologists for a mass survey of the mysterious creatures to shed light on their habits.

Masses of electric blue, bright red and purple jellyfish, some of them with 30 foot stinging tentacles, have been found on beaches and in the seas of England and Scotland, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said last week.

EDIT

Swarms of the giant Lion's Mane, Britain's largest jellyfish species which can reach over 6 feet in diameter and cause a nasty sting, have appeared off the northwest coast of England and Scotland. Thousands of massive, venomous Barrel jellyfish have been recorded in the Irish Sea and washed up on Welsh beaches, while vast blooms of the harmless Moon jellyfish have also been found.

Ranger said it was unclear why jellyfish numbers had increased. "What we want to do with the survey is to overlay it with other environmental information to find out which conditions make jellyfish appear in such high numbers," she said."

EDIT

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/25945/story.htm

[treepig]

1. turn 'em into biodiesel !

that'll solve this problem:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x11122

see, everything's going to work out after all . . .

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. This happened at South Padre Island...

when I was about 12. (March 1978)

It was freaky! Blue balloons laying everywhere on the beach, and those tentacles were everywhere! They're so long, and sneak up on you in the water too if you're not careful.

You had to be so careful where you stepped. I wore my flipflops into the water and still ended up getting stung.

[soothsayer]

3. Lion's Mane! That figures in a great Sherlock Holmes story

I think it's even in the title. The guy is really murdered, but they try to make it look like the Lion's Mane killed him. I read it online recently.

[soleft]

4. There were a lot of Jelly fish eggs in the water off NJ last week

Seemed really early in the summer for it.

[Pale Blue Dot]

5. Is that what those are?

I've been noticing a ton of little clear globules in the water and n the beach. I had no idea if it was pollution or something related to jellyfish. Are they jellyfish eggs?

[ramapo]

6. Not jellyfish eggs

Of course I don't remember what these things are. There were tons of them a few years ago. Clouds of 'em floating in the surf. They'd get in your suit and hair. Kind of gross but not enough to keep me out of the water completely.

After getting home, I searched and searched before coming up with the story...I should've saved it cause now I've got to find it again.

[Kool Kitty]

8. There was an article in the Asbury Park Press

on Wednesday or Thursday this past week talking about stinging nettle jellyfish that have taken over Barnegat Bay. It mentioned that there is no swimming in the Bay now and that the influx of the jellies is unprecedented. They are usually found in the Chesapeake Bay, but have not been seen in the Barnegat Bay before. The fishermen are upset because the jellies will drive all the other fish out. The people that depend on the tourist industry are upset because if people can't swim or use the beaches, their business will die. The article mentioned that the warming of the water and pollution of the water are mostly to blame for this.

[ramapo]

7. Might be a bad sign

I've read that when most other ocean life collapses due to pollution or other disruption in the food chain, that the Jellyfish thrive. There's one or more of the European Seas where there's not much else left but the jellyfish.