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Jellyfish Population Is Dramatically Increasing

SANDY POINT, Md. (WJZ) ― The weather likely has something to do with it, but it's just one factor in a worldwide explosion of jellyfish.

As Alex DeMetrick reports, that includes a sudden increase in the Chesapeake Bay.

One jellyfish makes an impression, but huge blooms are showing up in unusual places.  Researchers report them from Japan to New York, and that's placed people into painful contact with the stinging tentacles jellyfish use to kill small prey.

But warmer water and overfishing may have also thinned out the animals that feed on jellyfish.

"Places that maybe fish and other animals used to keep the amount of food in check.  Now there's a lot of food for jellyfish and a lot of them can reproduce really fast," said Smithsonian senior scientist Dr. Denise Breitburg.

So far, lifeguards in Ocean City report very few jellyfish stings along the state's Atlantic coast.

In the Chesapeake Bay, jellyfish called sea nettles had been in a state of decline, but not this summer.

"In the bay, we're actually seeing higher numbers than we've seen in the last 15 to 20 years," Breitburg said.

Researchers at the Smithsonian's Environmental Center speculate nutrients from things like fertilizer may play a part in the bay's jellyfish bloom.

At Sandy Point State Park, more jellyfish mean more stings.

"Right now, I'd put it at 40% of the swimmers.  If you're in the water 30 minutes, they'll get you," said lifeguard George Bragdon.

Lifeguards say the bay's salty water is usually enough to soothe a sea nettle sting, although people are monitored for potentially serious allergic reactions.

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