Compass sea jelly in False Bay

False Bay jellyfish bloom

Compass sea jelly in False Bay
Compass sea jelly in False Bay

It’s not Jellyfish Lake in Palau by any stretch of the imagination, but we had some impressive jellyfish action in False Bay during September and October this year. I filmed these two videos at Outer Photographer’s Reef, at the safety stop.

[youtube=”www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5lTwFh3Yp8&w=540″]

These purple beauties are compass sea jellies, but we also saw impressive blooms of box jellyfish that lasted for several weeks, right into November. It’s possible that this congregation of sea jellies was caused by a quirk of a current somewhere, that herded them all into False Bay and then prevented their departure. There’s also the possibility that they found something nice to eat in False Bay, perhaps because of the large volume of sewerage that gets pumped out into the ocean all around this special piece of coastline.

[youtube=”www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_qQliXqPTQ&w=540″]

Scientists aren’t actually sure what causes jellyfish blooms, but ultimate causes seem to be warmer oceans and increased nutrient loadings in coastal waters as a result of human activities.

Box jellies can deliver a nasty sting – it’s the luck of the draw whether it’s bad or not, but if it is, you can suffer for days. It’s also distinctly possible that with repeated stings you will become more sensitised to their venom. So take care!

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Clare

Lapsed mathematician, creator of order, formulator of hypotheses. Lover of the ocean, being outdoors, the bush, reading, photography, travelling (especially in Africa) and road trips.