Swarms of stingers invade Jersey’s shores

Large numbers of mauve stingers have been spotted at Grève de Lecq, while jellyfish have also been seen at Bouley Bay and other northern beaches.

Today, Marine expert Dr Paul Chambers, a member of the Société Jersiaise Marine Biology Section, said that it was ‘very unusual’ for mauve stingers to gather in such numbers.

‘They have been recorded in shoals, but only rarely in the UK, with the peak years being in the 1890s and 1953,’ he said.

Hundreds of mauve stingers have been spotted in Jersey waters

‘So it looks like this year is exceptional. I certainly can’t ever recall them swarming like this although they do sometimes turn up in numbers in November or December.

‘What happens with a lot of jellyfish is they will breed out in places like the Bay of Biscay and on the outskirts of the Channel, and when the autumn storms start they get pushed into our part of the sea.’

Dr Chambers added that Jersey’s northern, western and south-western beaches were more at risk of blooms of jellyfish because of the way tides moved in those areas.

‘If people are looking for areas with fewer jellyfish they should go to places such as Grouville Bay or La Rocque, or possibly St Aubin,’ he said.

Experts attribute the large numbers of jellyfish seen around Jersey this summer due to the seas warming earlier than usual, triggering a strong breeding season for the creatures.

Long distance swimmer Wendy Trehiou, pictured showing jellyfish 'burns' on her arm, was stung by several jellyfish during her record-breaking St Malo to Jersey swim this summer

Their arrival in late July prompted the Health Department to issue a warning to beachgoers advising them to be on the look-out as well as offering tips on treating stings.

And over the bank holiday weekend the jellyfish carpeted Grève de Lecq, stopping swimmers enjoying a late-summer dip.

Violet Journeaux (71), who swims three times a day at Grève de Lecq, said she had missed three days of swimming at her favourite beach because of the large number of mauve stingers in the water.

‘I’ve been swimming for more than 60 years and am down the beach everyday and I have never seen anything like this before – there’s millions of them.

‘There’s too many jellyfish here and we can’t swim. I’ve been stung twice and haven’t been in the water since. It doesn’t hurt too much, but it is frightening.

‘It’s put me off going on to the beach here and this is the best beach on the Island.

Last December Jersey was inundated with swarms of Velella jellyfish, a rare, harmless variety which had not been seen in Jersey since 1973

‘Not many people are going in the water because they are getting stung. It puts everybody off swimming.’

Mrs Journeaux added that she had suggested to the beach’s RNLI lifeguards that they use a boat and net to drag the tentacled creatures away.

Jersey’s RNLI lifeguards said that they had noticed a lot more jellyfish this year, particularly at Grève de Lecq and Plémont.

Will Glenn, Jersey’s RNLI lifeguard supervisor, said: ‘Our advice to people is to be careful when in the water and try to avoid any contact with a jellyfish where possible.

‘If you’re on an RNLI lifeguarded beach and receive a sting, go to the lifeguards immediately and they’ll be able to help. Otherwise the sting can be eased by pouring sea water on the affected area. It’s also recommended to speak to the lifeguards before you go into the water so you can find out about any hazards.’

Most stinging jellyfish may have the power to cause minor discomfort to individual swimmers, but in sufficient numbers they can wreak havoc on an industrial scale.

A comb jellyfish

  • In 1982 the invasive comb jellyfish wiped out a $350 million fishing industry in the Black Sea.
  • In 2003 300 tonnes of the creatures damaged intake screens at a desalination plant, cutting its output by half.
  • In 2006 jellyfish clogged a US nuclear plant’s water intake three times, causing a 60 per cent power reduction in one of the reactors.
  • In 2007 mauve stingers (like those in Jersey) killed 100,000 salmon in Northern Ireland’s only salmon farm.
  • In 2009 a ten-tonne trawler capsized when the crew tried to pull in a net full of Nomura’s jellyfish, which can weigh 440 pounds each.[figure caption=”A Nomura’s jellyfish” title=”Nomura-jellyfish-2″ align=”center” url=”/?attachment_id=1493491″ id=”1493491″][/breakout]
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