A good year for jellyfish population

Jenny Marder

Jellyfish are swarming Surf City’s coastal waters this summer and

stinging more swimmers than lifeguards can remember them doing.

City lifeguards, who treated 12 jellyfish stings all last summer,

have already treated 399 jellyfish injuries since June 1.

It is one of the highest counts Marine Safety Lt. Mike Baumgartner

has seen in his 22 years at the city beach.

The number of stings is partly a result of the increased activity

at the beaches, he said.

“We’ve had more people here, the water’s warmer and people stay in

the water for a longer period of time,” he said, adding that the rise

and fall in the number of the gelatinous fish is simply “a phenomenon

that happens over time.”

Cory Tague, who supervises lifeguard towers at the Huntington

State Beach, also said that in his 11 years of work at the state

beach, he’s never seen so many jellyfish stings. He can’t remember

any jellyfish incidents at all during his first five years as a

lifeguard.

“This year, we have vinegar at every single tower because of it.”

he said.

Jellyfish are attracted to warm water, and are found along the

coast whenever temperatures rise, Tague said.

They may look like shrunken blobs when washed up on the sand, but

in the water, jellyfish are graceful sea creatures.

Jellyfish have soft bodies and long, poisonous tentacles that

release a venom used to catch fish. The poison, which is sent out

through stinging cells called nematocysts, can be unleashed upon any

object that brushes against the creature, including a human limb.

Touching a jellyfish causes a burning sensation that can last minutes

or several hours.

The kind most commonly spotted in Surf City waters are parachute

shaped and opaque in color, with purple veins and the consistency of

jelly. They are between six and 10 inches in size and are made up of

99% water.

Although the sting of some jellyfish, such as the box jelly and

the Irukandji jelly, can be deadly, the kind found in Huntington

waters is not dangerous, and no major injuries have been reported at

the beaches.

“There is usually some minor irritation and redness that goes away

within a couple of hours,” Baumgartner said.

To treat stings, lifeguards simply spray the injured area with

vinegar and water, a remedy that breaks down the nematocyst cells.

Although people have been known to have severe allergic reactions to

jellyfish, none have been recorded at either the city or the state

beach this summer.

“People show us their red welts, we squirt them, and that’s it,”

Tague said.