Just When You Think It's Safe To Go Back In:

Last weekend my brother and I headed to the beach for an afternoon in the sun and surf. The two go hand in hand as the heat is unbearable and requires frequent dips in the water to cool down. This was made impossible by the jellyfish per square inch of water ratio. There were millions of them and not a single stretch of water could have been enjoyed without fear of a serious sting. It would seem that the Gulf of Mexico is not alone in the jellyfish invasion. Massive swarms of the poisonous creatures are moving and relocating to a beach near you.

“From Spain to New York, to Australia, Japan and Hawaii, jellyfish are becoming more numerous and more widespread, and they are showing up in places where they have rarely been seen before, scientists say. The faceless marauders are stinging children blithely bathing on summer vacations, forcing beaches to close and clogging fishing nets.

But while jellyfish invasions are a nuisance to tourists and a hardship to fishermen, for scientists they are a source of more profound alarm, a signal of the declining health of the world’s oceans.”

The New York Times