Scientists Says Jellyfish Are Taking Over the Oceans 274
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Karla Cripps reports at CNN that a combination of overfishing, warming water, low oxygen and pollution are creating perfect conditions for jellyfish to multiply. "The jellyfish seem to be the ones that are flourishing in this while everything else is suffering," says Australian jellyfish researcher Lisa-ann Gershwin. In 2000, a bloom of sea tomato jellyfish in Australia was so enormous — it stretched for more than 1,000 miles from north to south — that it was even visible from space. While most blooms are not quite that big, Gershwin's survey of research on jellyfish from the last few decades indicate that populations are most likely on the rise, and that this boom is taking place in an ocean that is faced with overfishing, acid rain, nutrient pollution from fertilizers and climate change, among other problems. This past summer, southern Europe experienced one of its worst jellyfish infestations ever. Experts there have been reporting a steady increase in the number of jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea for years. With more than 2,000 species of jellyfish swimming through the world's waters, most stings are completely harmless, some will leave you in excruciating pain, then there are the killers. There are several species of big box jellyfish that have caused many deaths — these include chironex fleckeri in Australia, known as the "most lethal jellyfish in the world whose sting can kill in three minutes. "Just the lightest brush — you don't even feel it — and then, whammo, you're in more pain than you ever could have imagined, and you are struggling to breathe and you can't move your limbs and you can't stop vomiting and your blood pressure just keeps going up and up," says Gershwin. "It is really surprising how many places they occur around the world — places you would never expect: Hawaii, Caribbean, Florida, Wales, New Caledonia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, India ... as well as Australia.""
Re:On the plus side (Score:5, Insightful)
And if we hadn't overfished turtles(with their incredibly long life cycle), the jellyfish population would likely be in check.
Re:Ethical fishing (Score:5, Insightful)
I know you're making a joke, but it's actually serious. They're busy trying to promote eating Lionfish, another troublesome invasive species. Perhaps not coincidentally, Lionfish can also be dangerous to handle, so part of the promotion is teaching people how to safely handle and prepare them.
There were several jellyfish recpies, but your sesame jellyfish is the only one with a picture.
Obviously need to over-fish jellyfish as well then (Score:4, Insightful)
Can't we find a use for them? As soon as capitalism gets to work on them, they'll be goners too.
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Re:Most likely on the rise? (Score:2, Insightful)
So, in your universe, science is something that always gives 100% certain answers?
So in your world, gravity works, "mostly sometimes" but not 100%?
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Re:Oh noes! (Score:4, Insightful)
As long as you don't mind being one of those species. Sure. Guess what: your species depends on its environment to a greater degree than others like cockroaches or jellyfish.
Re:Ethical fishing (Score:5, Insightful)
What we need to do, is help sea turtles out more, as they are the ones that were eating these jellyfish for centuries before their population took a hit.
Re:Oh noes! (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, it means shit changes. Species go extinct. Other species move in to fill a niche when condition change. That's how life works.
Preserving the status quo, and attempting to freeze the environment in a particular point in time, is futile and shortsighted.
Right, so we might as well just take every fish that we possibly can out of the ocean. A fishing net that can hold 14 747s is not big enough, we need larger nets so that we can also mistakenly catch whales, sharks, rays, dolphins, turtles, etc. Because that's how life works, being caught in a gigantic net when you're not even being hunted. We should also speed up production on more boats that can catch 3,000 tons of tuna in a single trip [youtube.com], because the ocean can totally sustain a tuna fleet like that. I mean, who cares if the boat catches and kills tons and tons of other species that they just get rid of, those things shouldn't have been swimming near the tuna, right? Who cares if Japan is allotted 6,000 tons of bluefin tuna to catch in a year (they only need that boat to make 2 trips, then they can relax!), but instead they catch between 12,000 and 20,000 tons? That doesn't affect me! I don't give a shit if my grandchildren ever taste tuna! They'll be happy with their peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches. This doesn't make me angry because I know that Japan isn't alone in these practices, so I can't blame them. Hell, the Pacific bluefin tuna stocks are down 96%, you know what that means? Yeah, baby, we still have 4% left! Go get it! In the recent catch 90% of the fish were juveniles who had never reproduced. You know what that means? Last generation, fuckers! Get it while you can! We need to get that boat that can catch 3,000 tons at once out there to finish off those cocky fuckers, what with their "waaa, I'm the top of the food chain" bullshit.
This is exactly the way the world works - people discover fishing, they discover nets, build boats, and entire villages, cities, and countries survive because of the plentiful fish that the ocean provides. Then we build a fishing fleet bigger than the world has ever seen, take everything we possibly can out of the ocean in order to get the high-dollar stuff we're after, leave nothing for the local communities, and they can all go fuck themselves because this a fucking dynamic planet. I'm right there with you, pal.
Re:Ethical fishing (Score:4, Insightful)
I am concerned that's a terrible solution. Largely because if the fish comes into demand, and the cost to farm them drops below the catch and transport cost from where they already are invading, you could just get introductions to new places.
It would seem to work as long as they are incredibly plentiful, but we certainly haven't eliminated chickens by eating them.