Environment

Giant Jellyfish Invade Japan

by alia_d | July 20, 2009 at 09:27 am

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Giant jellyfish will invade the waters near Japan later this year, marking the third giant jellyfish invasion since 2005. The giant jellyfish, which previously invaded the Sea of Japan in 2005 and 2007, are returning for another perfomance, as fisherman and villagers along the Japanese coast prepare themselves for danger and destruction.

The giant jellyfish invasion, which sounds more like a science fiction movie than reality, follows other strange incidents involving giant undersea creatures that occurred earlier this month. On July 14, 2009, a 5,000 pound, 15-foot long shark washed ashore at a beach in New York state. On July 12, 2009, giant squids invaded San Diego's coastline after a massive undersea earthquake.

Fortunately, for New York and San Diego the sea creatures that showed up along their coastlines are not nearly as economically destructive as the giant jellyfish invading the Sea of Japan.

The massive sea creatures, called Nomura's jellyfish, can grow 6 feet (1.83 meters) in diameter and weigh more than 450 pounds (204 kilos). Scientists think they originate in the Yellow Sea and in Chinese waters.

In the past, Nomura's jellyfish have destroyed nets belonging to fishing villages and communities of fisherman, with terrible economic consequences for whole communities.

The jellyfish destroy fishermen's nets, getting trapped in them, tearing holes and ruining catches.

Fishermen often use expensive mazelike nets that stretch for hundreds of kilometers. When swarms of giant jellyfish tear them, the result is devastating.

Due to the recent giant jellyfish invasions, the Japanese government has begun conducting research on Nomura's jellyfish, a giant jellyfish species about which little is known. It has also created a giant jellyfish warning system for fisherman so that they can remove their nets from harms way before the giant jellyfish arrive.

Japanese scientists think that unusually heavy rains in Yangtze River Delta may have created a current that is pushing the giant jellyfish towards Japan. Another possibility is that, as a result of climate change, hotter seas have created an environment that is more friendly to Nomura's jellyfish, enabling the giant jellyfish to breed in much larger numbers than colder times.

Some enterprising Japanese fisherman have turned bad fortune into profit by transforming the giant jellyfish caught in their nets into crab food, fertilizer and snacks that are dried and salted.

Salty giant jellyfish chips, anyone?