The sea creatures that have been known for their umbrella shape and painful stings, have over the past years been on the rise. Jellyfish, or their scientific name Medusozoa, have been worrying people with their growing populations, making people believe that they will take over the ocean. However, scientist know that Jellyfish have been having a lot of fluctuation between smaller and larger populations for years. The soft bodied aquatic animal have been seen in large quantities near shore and many have washed up on the beach.  

For awhile Jellyfish growth have been blamed on the fishing industry, by overfishing, Jellyfish have been losing their predators, also global warming and nutrient run off. However, there is now more to it, all the offshore wind farms, oil and gas platforms have been producing the perfect habitat for our little friends. Many researchers believe that the growing of the Jellyfish populations is closely related to the man made structures that have increased since 1970. In addition, the skyrocket population of jellyfish have also been clogging intake pipes of power stations that are located on shores and the few that have fatal stings have been dangerous to humans who are working to make more power stations near shore. However, what is best for the Jellyfish is also good for other marine life in the open ocean. Be aware that scientist have come up with “Jellyfish crisps” which are said to be way healthier then the fried chips that we consume on a daily basis.  So, watch out for those jellyfish, because they are on the rise.

Sources

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/12/many-jellyfish-sea-blame-wind-farms-gas-platforms/