Swarms of nightmarishly huge jellyfish are invading the UK

By Sam Haysom From Mashable

LONDON – We don’t want to cause a national panic or anything, but it seems that more and more horrendously large jellyfish are setting up shop in UK waters.

According to reports from the Marine Conservation Charity (MCS), record numbers of “massive” barrel jellyfish, which can grow up to 1 metre wide and weigh 25 kg, have shown up over the last year. And there’s also the scary Portuguese man o’ war that have been seen washed up on beaches in the southwest, or the the mauve stingers spotted in the waters around Guernsey in July.

“Our National Jellyfish Survey suggests significant recent rises in the numbers of some jellyfish species in UK seas, most notably the barrel,” said MCS Biodiversity and Fisheries Programme Manager Dr Peter Richardson. The million-dollar question is why is this happening? The million-dollar question is why is this happening? At the moment we just don’t know.

“We know that our seas are changing through climate change, resulting in rising sea temperatures and increased ocean acidification, and we know our seas are also heavily fished. At the same time we seem to be witnessing increases in jellyfish around the UK. Is this an anomaly, a coincidence, or are the jellyfish telling us something about fundamental changes in the condition of our seas?”

There are some other jellyfish species reportedly spotted around the UK in 2015 under IMAGES

“People are fascinated by jellyfish and that’s why our survey is one of our most successful citizen-science projects,” said Richardson. “But we believe there is now a need for UK government to commission dedicated scientific research and monitoring to answer pressing questions about what is happening to jellyfish numbers, why it is happening and what this means for our precious and productive seas.”

IMAGES:
Barrel_jellyfish_amy_martin This guy is known as a “barrel jellyfish.” IMAGE: AMY MARTIN
Lots of mauve stingers appeared to be vacationing in Guernsey this summer. IMAGE: PAUL NAYLOR
A Portuguese man o’ war found washed up on the beach. IMAGE: PETER SOPER
Compass_Jellyfish The compass jellyfish has been seen in the northwest and the southwest of England and Wales. IMAGE: PAUL NAYLOR
Moon_Jellyfish The cutely named moon jellyfish have been popping up all over the UK. IMAGE: PAUL NAYLOR
Lions_Mane_jellyfish The impressive lion’s mane jellyfish has appeared around Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. IMAGE: CALUM DUNCAN
By_the_Wind_Sailor_jellyfish There have been a few sightings of this jellyfish, called “By the Wind Sailor”, in January and then again in July. IMAGE: PAUL KAY
Blue_Jellyfish Blue jellyfish have been reported all over the UK since May. IMAGE: A. PEARSON

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