Experts say jellyfish numbers are normal this year
Long, warm days draw people to the beach every summer, and beachgoers find they have company as area waters are teeming with marine life.
Summer is the height of beach season as well as the peak reproductive season for fish and jellyfish.
| Remedies for jellyfish stings |
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There are lots of remedies thought to treat jellyfish stings, but scientists consider vinegar the best option, said Charles Epifanio, marine science professor and interim director of the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy. Vinegar is a weak acid that breaks down the protein that causes stings, he said. “Some still recommend meat tenderizer, although that’s pretty much passé with more serious sources,” he said. Epifanio said some people recommend urine, which may help stings because the ammonia in it breaks down protein, but vinegar is considered the best treatment. “If you get stung, don’t rub it. You’ll get the stinging cells to release more toxins and make the sting worse,” Epifanio said. Warm water and warm compresses should provide relief in the absence in vinegar. Dewey Beach Patrol Captain Todd Frichtman said his lifeguard staff apply Barbasol shaving cream to soothe jellyfish stings and use fine-edged plastics to scrape off stinging cells. Frichtman said while serious reactions requiring medical care happen, they are extremely rare. Most people experience mild burning and skin irritation from stings, he said. Jellyfish sting by piercing skin and injecting venom designed to paralyze prey, said Frichtman. In people, it normally generates an allergic reaction. In case of serious reactions, go straight to the hospital.
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Jellyfish are among a variety of sea creatures that breed in coastal waters and swim close to shore, said Todd Frichtman, captain of the Dewey Beach Patrol. He said they haven’t turned up any earlier or in greater numbers than normal.
Warm waters have been favorable to jellyfish, said Charles Epifanio, marine science professor and interim director of the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy.
“Jellyfish aren’t very good swimmers, so they pretty much go where the currents take them,” said Epifanio.
Epifanio said several species of jellyfish are in area waters already.
That doesn’t necessarily mean their numbers will continue to grow through the summer, he said, and it’s difficult to predict how many will be around through the rest of the season.
Delaware is at the southern range of the red lion’s mane jellyfish, which probably won’t be around much longer, said Epifanio.
In more northern waters, lion’s mane jellyfish can reach diameters of six feet or more, but in this area, the largest are around eight inches across, he said.
They sting, but Epifanio said most people aren’t badly affected by them.
“Moon jellies look ferocious, but they aren’t,” said Epifanio. The stinging cells in these large, translucent jellyfish with four white rings, don’t affect human skin, he said. Mushroom jellyfish are very common, and also relatively harmless, he said.
Chesapeake nettles, on the other hand, do sting. White with long tentacles, nettles are nasty, Epifanio said.
“There’s not much swimming in the Chesapeake Bay because of them,” he said. Generally, there are more nettles as the summer progresses, said Epifano.
Later in the season, mini ribbed jellyfish, small round ones that look like clear hockey pucks, will show up, said Epifanio.
