Jellyfish

Are not something that bring pleasant thoughts to mind

Particularly if you have ever been stung by one

Many jellyfish species produce toxins for which we have no answer today

Hugely increasing numbers of jellyfish are causing increasing concern as more people are being killed in different parts of the world

Jellyfish are coming into the news because they give us another insight into how our world is changing

Jellyfish have been around for hundred's of millions of years and have survived where other species have come and gone

Until recently we did not know much about them or their habits, now we are learning that some can see

Others are predators who go where they want, trap their prey be it fish or algae and come to dominate the areas they move into

What makes them of concern to us is that unprecedented swarms of jellyfish are now appearing all over the globe

In the cold waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Antarctic, to the deepest ocean depths to the warm oceans of the world swarms are proliferating

And why now?

We do not know all the answers but here are some

Slight temperature changes cause jellyfish to reproduce and swarm

So called dead sea conditions caused by man in the Gulf of Mexico, the mouth of the Yangtze river the Black Sea, Mediterranean and elsewhere create apparently ideal conditions for breeding and swarming

The excessive killing of leather backed turtles, tuna and other species have removed natural jellyfish predators

As a result jellyfish are inhibiting mans use of the seas for pleasure

Through his greed and ignorance man has upset a balance that existed for millions of years

With the disappearance of the seas as a food source and an increasing population man is creating more problems for himself

Problems that we are only now becoming aware of

And the point of this blog?

We cannot reverse all the damage we are doing but we can become more aware

And we can change our own habits where these support sane behavior

Be informed

Act rationally in your own life