‘Not normal to see’: Monstrous jellyfish washing up along Florida beaches
SANIBEL, Fla. (WFLA) — Monstrous-sized, unusual-looking jellyfish have recently begun washing up along Florida’s beaches, prompting questions from researchers and beachgoers.
The giant jellies, some weighing nearly 20 pounds, have been spotted from Marco Island to Fort Myers Beach. While spotting the transparent blobs on the beach isn’t strange, researchers have said it’s “not normal” to see them in Southwest Florida.
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Dr. Rick Bartleson, a researcher at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) for nearly 20 years, told NBC affiliate WBBH that he’s “never seen this type of jellyfish in Southwest Florida.”
He identified the marine animal as a mushroom cap jellyfish.
“It’s not normal to see them around here as far as I know, but I’ve seen them in the northern gulf,” Bartleson told WBBH. “But we’ve been having wind and cold fronts, and they’re all plankton, so they move around with the currents and with the wind.”
The SCCF said they’ve received calls from beachgoers spotting the mushroom cap jellies lately.
Austin Wise, a teacher at the Sanibel Sea School, even tried to save a stranded jellyfish on Lighthouse Beach by safely picking it up off the sand and returning it to the water.
“It felt like I was holding a bunch of Jell-O in my hands, about 20 pounds worth,” Wise told WBBH. Wise said he’s used to teaching students about marine life, but scooping up a mushroom jellyfish was a first for him.
“Typically, the jellies that we see are not even close to that size around here,” he said.
Luckily, beachgoers shouldn’t be afraid if they spot one on the beach as the sea creatures typically won’t sting anyone.
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“They typically won’t sting anybody,” Bartleson reassured WBBH. “If you find one, try to put it back in the water because they can’t breathe air, and they have a better chance at surviving in the water.”
He added that mushroom cap jellyfish have a “very mild sting,” and since their tentacles don’t extend like a man o’ war, they’re usually easy to spot while in the water.
Bartleson also told WBBH that the influx of mushroom caps washing up on beaches shouldn’t be worrisome from an environmental standpoint.
“Having a one-time occurrence of them washing up just means they got concentrated by the wind, and you’re just seeing them all of a sudden because of the currents,” he said.
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