A massive jellyfish takeover has thrown part of Australia’s coastline into chaos, turning beach days into a hard no. Swarms of lion’s mane jellyfish have flooded areas around Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay, washing up by the thousands and triggering safety alerts.
Local councils and lifesaving crews are sounding the alarm, telling beach lovers to stay sharp and out of the water as this full-blown “jellygeddon” rolls across some of the area’s most popular beaches.
Authorities warn swimmers of ‘jellygeddon’
The jellyfish invasion is stretching across a big chunk of the coast, running from Altona all the way down to Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula. The overwhelming numbers are reportedly what led locals to coin the term “jellygeddon” (via The Guardian). Authorities have warned that many of the jellies are bunching up in shallow water and piling along the shoreline, making things risky not just for swimmers, but even for people strolling the beach.
As per Neil Blake, the bay’s keeper, a surge this intense hasn’t been seen in roughly four years. While most of the jellyfish are about the size of a peach, their tentacles can stretch over a meter long and pack a painful sting. At one Melbourne beach, the situation got so out of hand that officials briefly shut it down after a huge swarm of jellyfish arrived.
Blake also tied the spike in jellyfish to what was happening in the water earlier this summer, noting that bluebottles had already washed up on Victorian beaches back in December. Shifting weather has only added fuel to the fire, with winds and waves shuttling the jellyfish in and out of the bay.
Local councils and lifesaving crews are backing up those warnings, too. Bayside City Council even joked about it in a Jan. 19 Facebook post, calling it “the joys of an Australian summer,” while still reminding people to stay alert. Life Saving Victoria has been more blunt, advising beachgoers to skip swimming altogether if jellyfish are around.
