The plague of the seas

There appears to be trouble brewing within our seas. While many aspects of it our naturally occurring, there is apparent evidence to indicate that the results of our actions are moving it to a more noticeable and detrimental state. The effect of the slight increase in worldwide temperature in conjunction with runoff from agricultural farming and sewage has provided excellent spawning grounds for an interesting creature. Cnidaria are becoming more prominent within our waters, more commonly referred to as jellyfish.

There has been a noticeable increase the populations of numerous varieties of jellyfish across the world. This has been due to the growth of jellyfish "blooms". These "blooms" can contain up to hundreds of thousands of these sea creatures. There are a number of factors involved in the jellyfish reproduction rate; primarily nutrient content, temperature and oxygen levels. These creatures are able to survive in areas with a lower oxygen content than what other marine life can, and feed off the plankton that grow in the nutrients from the waste pumped into the ocean by humanity.

The detrimental effects of vast populations of jellyfish are few in number, but very noticeable. The first direct affect to humanity would be contact, stinging by their tentacles on humans in swimming waters is a known occurrence. As many are fairly small, and their body structure makes them appear translucent, they are nearly invisible in the waters they inhabit. Another prominent effect is upon fish. While they not only eat the same food as fish, they feast on the fish as well. This can result in severe or complete decline in fishing stocks.

Proof of their expansion has been noticed around the world. In Hawaii, the Box jellyfish makes an appearance every month, on the darkest nights near the new moon. Thousands of them swim towards shore to reproduce. They effectively clog the waters, making it unpleasant and unsafe to swim. In Japan, their fishing industry has been decimated at times due the presence of the Nomurai, a giant in the world of jellyfish, which can grow up to 2 meters in diameter and 450 lbs. While not much a direct threat to humans, they do affect the fish population, though they do not feed on them. Hundreds of them in one location can poison and kill the fish, and get caught in nets. In 2009, a Japanese trawler was capsized due to the number of Nomurai within their fishing nets.

These are just two known occurrences of the effects of jellyfish on the world around them. There are others in the Gulf of Mexico, the Bering Strait, and the Dead Sea. Check these hot spots for more stories.

While there is not vast research into the world of jellyfish, there is enough known and witnessed to believe the potential detrimental effects they can have in great numbers. There is proof that our actions that affect our oceans have an effect on marine life, in conjunction with nature. If we continue to pollute our waters at the rate we are going, we may completely offset the balance of nature. Worse case scenario, the jellyfish become the dominate species within our waters, and we could lose our viable resources, and the natural beauty of our world that makes in wondrous.