Attack of the Killer Jellyfish

Jellyfish might not be the most frightening creatures in the ocean, but for north Atlantic salmon farmers these days, there's nothing scarier. About a week ago, it emerged that an enormous swarm of jellyfish invaded a salmon farm in Northern Ireland and engulfed hundreds of thousands of salmon. The sea was so dense with jellies that the boats used to try to go rescue the fish couldn't cut through the gelatinous mush. This story would be a science-fiction-esque curiosity if it didn't have such potentially alarming consequences. A few days ago, another salmon farm was hit, leaving tons of rotting fish carcasses floating in the Irish Sea. Huge jellyfish swarms have also been spotted off the coast of Scotland.



Jellyfish are warm-water creatures, and their swelling numbers reflect unseasonably warm conditions in the North Atlantic and could foreshadow the future trends of marine biology. As waters warm, the numbers of jellies are only going to increase, likely at the expense of other marine life. Hopefully we can stem this trend and protect biodiversity by managing jellyfish populations or supporting natural predators, such as the adorably truncated Mola fish:



Ok, glad I could find an excuse to get that picture in there...