Thursday, August 7, 2008 1:34 PM EDT
Jellyfish invade our shores
 Jellyfish are inflicting painful stings on swimmers along the shore from Rhode Island to New York. |
The jellyfish that have drifted to the Northeast on warm water currents are accidental tourists who are inflicting painful stings on swimmers along the shore from Rhode Island to New York.
The influx of these marine invertebrates, which can be found in every ocean in the world and even in some fresh water, hasn’t reached a critical stage and they won’t hang around long, but local lifeguards say they are definitely here.
When humans come into contact with jellyfish the stinging cells in the tentacle fire off a little harpoon that goes into the skin and releases toxins before working its way out. And there is apparently relatively little humans can do to relieve the pain.
Non-fatal jellyfish stings are known to be extremely painful but serious stings may cause anaphylaxis and possibly result in death.
While household vinegar is recommended for jellyfish stings it is not recommended for Portuguese Man o’ War stings. Fresh water should not be used if the sting occurred in salt water, as a change in pH can cause the release of additional venom. Rubbing the wound, or using alcohol, spirits, ammonia, or urine will encourage the release of venom and should be avoided.
Once deactivated, the stinging cells must be removed and tentacles left on the body should be picked off carefully by first aid providers wearing gloves or another readily available barrier device to prevent personal injury.
Two products, StingMate, a vinegar gel with menthol, is promoted on the Internet, as well as Jellyfish Squish, reportedly endorsed by the American Lifeguard Association.
Jeff Lenihan, a 26-year lifeguard veteran and one of the lifeguard supervisors at the Misquamicut town beach, confirmed some people have complained about being stung by jellyfish but added, “We haven’t had an infestation yet but they’re here.”
“We have spray bottles with vinegar in them so when the people come up to the stands on the beach we have the vinegar right there for them,” Lenihan said. In addition to the vinegar, Lenihan said a mix of baking soda and water should be applied as soon as possible. “But what we don’t do is rub the wound or we don’t apply fresh water or ammonia because it increases the pain.” He also says, “We stay away from the rubbing alcohol down here.”
His team follows the recommendations of the American Red Cross lifeguarding manual. “Our procedures are done by the book. We go 99 percent by the book, one percent common sense.”
The 41-year-old Lenihan recommends beach goers carry a spray bottle containing vinegar with a little water in it, just in case.
He noted it is hard to tell what type of jellyfish has inflicted the pain or where they might be contacted. “Sometimes they could be a hundred yards offshore, sometimes they could be right in the break line.” Children could be stung even though they stay close to the shoreline.
Lenihan says although the jellyfish are “definitely here and some days could be worse than others, I don’t want to scare people.” But, he adds, “it’s good to have a heads up when you’re going into the water.”
Lifeguard Don Gingerella, stationed at the Ocean House property on East Beach, had reports of “at least 20 stings.” More have occurred this week.
Tom Angell, a marine fisheries biologist with the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife in Jamestown, said one of the most common and larger jellyfish seen locally are called the Lion’s Mane. This species stings, but is not as venomous or poisonous as the Portuguese Man o’ War.
The Portuguese Man o’ War is commonly confused with a jellyfish, which is incorrect, and may lead to improper treatment of stings as the venom is different. [A second sting could lead to an allergic reaction.]
This species dangles long tentacles that average three feet in length, but can be up to 33 feet long. Detached tentacles and specimens that wash ashore can sting just as painfully as the intact creature for weeks after their detachment. Medical attention is usually necessary.
Research suggests the best treatment for this sting is to apply hot water to the affected area. Ice is also effective at suppressing the pain by reducing the activity of the toxins. Additionally, ice constricts blood vessels, which reduces the speed at which the venom travels to other parts of the body.
Angell explained the jellyfish proliferation, saying, “we also get more tropical type jellyfish that do come up here during the summer as the water gets very warm, typically through August. But as the water cools in the fall they will disappear and go back toward southern water.
“Sometimes you’ll get eddy currents that spin off from the Gulf Stream and bring these more tropical species to our area than normally come in here, but like the Lion’s Mane jellyfish that’s pretty much an annual event.” The swarms of jellyfish are here mainly to feed and reproduce, he said.
Angell said his comments were an “offhand guess” without actually having seen the types of jellyfish that have invaded our coastline.
He noted there are some very dangerous jellyfish such as the box jellyfish that typically inhabit the waters around Australia. “They are very deadly.”
By the same token, Angell reported, there are plenty of harmless jellyfish around here as well. The one called “The Comb,” fairly common in this area, is not a problem as far as interaction with people goes. “They’re more of a native species that occurs here unlike those that come up in the summer from another place and leave in the fall. I think they’re here most of the time.”
While sun worshipers may know relatively little about jellyfish, the body of an adult jellyfish is made up of 94-98 percent water. [Humans are about 75 percent water] and have a life span of about 2½ months; few live longer than 6 months but one species can live as long as 30 years and another species, T Nutricula, is effectively immortal.
Jellyfish, which are really not fish, live in groups often called “a smack,” are passive drifters and slow swimmers and are capable of congregating into larger swarms or “blooms” consisting of hundreds of individuals. They depend on currents to transport them from place to place.
Jellyfish are an important source of food to the Chinese and in many Asian countries. Fisheries have begun harvesting the larger “Cannonball” jellyfish, whose toxins are innocuous to humans, along the southern Atlantic coast of the U.S. and in the Gulf of Mexico for export to Asian nations.
The influx of these marine invertebrates, which can be found in every ocean in the world and even in some fresh water, hasn’t reached a critical stage and they won’t hang around long, but local lifeguards say they are definitely here.
When humans come into contact with jellyfish the stinging cells in the tentacle fire off a little harpoon that goes into the skin and releases toxins before working its way out. And there is apparently relatively little humans can do to relieve the pain.
Non-fatal jellyfish stings are known to be extremely painful but serious stings may cause anaphylaxis and possibly result in death.
While household vinegar is recommended for jellyfish stings it is not recommended for Portuguese Man o’ War stings. Fresh water should not be used if the sting occurred in salt water, as a change in pH can cause the release of additional venom. Rubbing the wound, or using alcohol, spirits, ammonia, or urine will encourage the release of venom and should be avoided.
Once deactivated, the stinging cells must be removed and tentacles left on the body should be picked off carefully by first aid providers wearing gloves or another readily available barrier device to prevent personal injury.
Two products, StingMate, a vinegar gel with menthol, is promoted on the Internet, as well as Jellyfish Squish, reportedly endorsed by the American Lifeguard Association.
Jeff Lenihan, a 26-year lifeguard veteran and one of the lifeguard supervisors at the Misquamicut town beach, confirmed some people have complained about being stung by jellyfish but added, “We haven’t had an infestation yet but they’re here.”
“We have spray bottles with vinegar in them so when the people come up to the stands on the beach we have the vinegar right there for them,” Lenihan said. In addition to the vinegar, Lenihan said a mix of baking soda and water should be applied as soon as possible. “But what we don’t do is rub the wound or we don’t apply fresh water or ammonia because it increases the pain.” He also says, “We stay away from the rubbing alcohol down here.”
His team follows the recommendations of the American Red Cross lifeguarding manual. “Our procedures are done by the book. We go 99 percent by the book, one percent common sense.”
The 41-year-old Lenihan recommends beach goers carry a spray bottle containing vinegar with a little water in it, just in case.
He noted it is hard to tell what type of jellyfish has inflicted the pain or where they might be contacted. “Sometimes they could be a hundred yards offshore, sometimes they could be right in the break line.” Children could be stung even though they stay close to the shoreline.
Lenihan says although the jellyfish are “definitely here and some days could be worse than others, I don’t want to scare people.” But, he adds, “it’s good to have a heads up when you’re going into the water.”
Lifeguard Don Gingerella, stationed at the Ocean House property on East Beach, had reports of “at least 20 stings.” More have occurred this week.
Tom Angell, a marine fisheries biologist with the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife in Jamestown, said one of the most common and larger jellyfish seen locally are called the Lion’s Mane. This species stings, but is not as venomous or poisonous as the Portuguese Man o’ War.
The Portuguese Man o’ War is commonly confused with a jellyfish, which is incorrect, and may lead to improper treatment of stings as the venom is different. [A second sting could lead to an allergic reaction.]
This species dangles long tentacles that average three feet in length, but can be up to 33 feet long. Detached tentacles and specimens that wash ashore can sting just as painfully as the intact creature for weeks after their detachment. Medical attention is usually necessary.
Research suggests the best treatment for this sting is to apply hot water to the affected area. Ice is also effective at suppressing the pain by reducing the activity of the toxins. Additionally, ice constricts blood vessels, which reduces the speed at which the venom travels to other parts of the body.
Angell explained the jellyfish proliferation, saying, “we also get more tropical type jellyfish that do come up here during the summer as the water gets very warm, typically through August. But as the water cools in the fall they will disappear and go back toward southern water.
“Sometimes you’ll get eddy currents that spin off from the Gulf Stream and bring these more tropical species to our area than normally come in here, but like the Lion’s Mane jellyfish that’s pretty much an annual event.” The swarms of jellyfish are here mainly to feed and reproduce, he said.
Angell said his comments were an “offhand guess” without actually having seen the types of jellyfish that have invaded our coastline.
He noted there are some very dangerous jellyfish such as the box jellyfish that typically inhabit the waters around Australia. “They are very deadly.”
By the same token, Angell reported, there are plenty of harmless jellyfish around here as well. The one called “The Comb,” fairly common in this area, is not a problem as far as interaction with people goes. “They’re more of a native species that occurs here unlike those that come up in the summer from another place and leave in the fall. I think they’re here most of the time.”
While sun worshipers may know relatively little about jellyfish, the body of an adult jellyfish is made up of 94-98 percent water. [Humans are about 75 percent water] and have a life span of about 2½ months; few live longer than 6 months but one species can live as long as 30 years and another species, T Nutricula, is effectively immortal.
Jellyfish, which are really not fish, live in groups often called “a smack,” are passive drifters and slow swimmers and are capable of congregating into larger swarms or “blooms” consisting of hundreds of individuals. They depend on currents to transport them from place to place.
Jellyfish are an important source of food to the Chinese and in many Asian countries. Fisheries have begun harvesting the larger “Cannonball” jellyfish, whose toxins are innocuous to humans, along the southern Atlantic coast of the U.S. and in the Gulf of Mexico for export to Asian nations.
Paula wrote on Aug 24, 2008 9:47 PM:
" Dear Jmom,
I was at the Narragansett beaches this wkend and noticed the jelly-like blobs too. I asked a environmental ranger at one of the shorelines and he said they are squid eggs..
They seem to be everywhere by the thousands or millions. I was at a fisherman/private beach on Sat and on Sun I was at Wheeler Beach they were all along the shoreline and in the water YUK! "
I was at the Narragansett beaches this wkend and noticed the jelly-like blobs too. I asked a environmental ranger at one of the shorelines and he said they are squid eggs..
They seem to be everywhere by the thousands or millions. I was at a fisherman/private beach on Sat and on Sun I was at Wheeler Beach they were all along the shoreline and in the water YUK! "
Jmom wrote on Aug 19, 2008 10:40 PM:
" While in the Misquamicut waters yesterday we noticed thousands of little jelly-like blobs. We figured they had something to do with actual jellyfish, but didn't know for sure. Just curious....any info appreciated. "
Of course........ wrote on Aug 12, 2008 8:06 PM:
" The RISC has an answer to this one. They'll take the same road as the road they took on the piping plovers. Declare the jellyfish endangered and claim that the real reason the beach needs to be closed is to protect the jellyfish!! "
Jesse Applewhite wrote on Aug 8, 2008 7:14 PM:
" RISC has the answer to this problem "
slow news day? wrote on Aug 8, 2008 7:35 AM:
" yep, must have been a slow news day, for a reporter to write a book report on jellyfish. Now I only wish there where some sharks in the water, now thats something to write about! Humans become dinner at the Town beach! "
it's august wrote on Aug 7, 2008 10:37 PM:
" Many of us know.... It's august and the water is warmer... Here come the jellyfish. But it's the tourists that don't know that this article will help. Thanks to all the lifeguards for all their hard work and for this article to inform those who have no clue. "
Jellyfish wrote on Aug 7, 2008 2:35 PM:
" Humans invade waters off of Misquamicut.
Us Jellyfish are squished and squashed
and thrown ashore. "
Us Jellyfish are squished and squashed
and thrown ashore. "
Hahahaha wrote on Aug 7, 2008 1:44 PM:
" You come to the Atlantic Ocean and complain about JELLYFISH??? What's next?? It's too sandy at the beach??? FOOLS "
Local wrote on Aug 7, 2008 1:14 PM:
" Jelleyfish have been around for centuries, this is NOTHING NEW...when I was young we also were stung by the jelleyfish. Stay out of the water if you don't want to get stung...or swim in fresh water! The jelleyfish were here first! "
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