I Don't Think You're Ready for This Jelly

Northern Ireland and Japan plagued by jellyfish

Posted at 10:34 AM on 27 Nov 2007

We're sure you have plenty of fodder for eco-nightmares, but let us add another: killer jellyfish. Last week, a horde of jellies covering an area of 10 square miles (!) attacked Northern Ireland's only salmon farm, killing some 100,000 fish. The mauve stinger jellyfish were well north of their favored Mediterranean habitat, thanks to warmer-than-normal water. Another type, the Nomura jellyfish, has within the past five years become a huge problem to fisherfolk in Japan. Theories for the recent jump in jellyfish include warmer seas, pollution, and changing water flows linked to China's Three Gorges Dam. Japan is doing what it can to deal with the Nomura jellies, which can measure six feet across and weigh up to 450 pounds: the country's fisheries service has devised a cookbook with jellyfish recipes, and a coastal dairy makes vanilla-and-jellyfish ice cream. Mmm. Peanut-butter-and-jellyfish sandwich, anyone?

sources:  Reuters, The Wall Street Journal