The Ocean
Guest Blogger BK writes:
One of the things I enjoy the most about where I live is that I am very near the ocean. I also have a big lawn that requires at least an hour a week to mow. The part I enjoy after mowing is that I almost always go over to the beach and jump in the ocean to cool off and get cleaned up. Most of the time I think how wonderful life is that I have the luxury to jump in the ocean only a few yards away whenever I want, I mean how many people can say that?
There have been a few days, not many, but a few where I am drenched in sweat and grass clipping and itching from the bugs that I literally run across the street to jump in the water, only to be stopped dead in my tracks as I spot jellyfish in the surf. I haven’t been stung yet, and I do everything I can to avoid a jellyfish encounter so that I hope I never do get stung.
I just read an interesting article in the Virginia Pilot that indicated the jellyfish are becoming more numerous and wide spread largely due to man made reasons. They say we are over fishing the natural predators of jellyfish, such as Tuna, sharks and sword fish, and as the water temperatures increase due to global warming, the jellyfish are starting to thrive. Jellyfish float haplessly with the currents and discharge their venom automatically when they bump into something warm, such as people. We don’t have the most venomous kinds in our waters, but some of them such as the Portuguese man-of-war can be deadly or deliver a painful sting producing wounds that can last for weeks, months or years depending on the person and amount of contact.
They say that more jellyfish are a sign of a sick ocean, and describe them as the cockroaches of the ocean. Human caused stresses including global warming and over fishing are encouraging jellyfish surpluses in many tourist destinations around the world and most pronounced in the Mediterranean sea where the jellyfish are thriving in the damaged environment.
The good news is either our oceans are pretty clean or we have been very lucky. The number of jellyfish encounters this season has been at or below my personal recollection, only once this season have I been stopped in my tracks at the oceans edge debating whether I would let one or two jellyfish stop me from taking the plunge.
(**Note: BK volunteers at the NC Aquarium in Manteo every week and cleans the shark tank--while the sharks are in it!
Till Next Time
Your OBX Bloggers
One of the things I enjoy the most about where I live is that I am very near the ocean. I also have a big lawn that requires at least an hour a week to mow. The part I enjoy after mowing is that I almost always go over to the beach and jump in the ocean to cool off and get cleaned up. Most of the time I think how wonderful life is that I have the luxury to jump in the ocean only a few yards away whenever I want, I mean how many people can say that?
There have been a few days, not many, but a few where I am drenched in sweat and grass clipping and itching from the bugs that I literally run across the street to jump in the water, only to be stopped dead in my tracks as I spot jellyfish in the surf. I haven’t been stung yet, and I do everything I can to avoid a jellyfish encounter so that I hope I never do get stung.
I just read an interesting article in the Virginia Pilot that indicated the jellyfish are becoming more numerous and wide spread largely due to man made reasons. They say we are over fishing the natural predators of jellyfish, such as Tuna, sharks and sword fish, and as the water temperatures increase due to global warming, the jellyfish are starting to thrive. Jellyfish float haplessly with the currents and discharge their venom automatically when they bump into something warm, such as people. We don’t have the most venomous kinds in our waters, but some of them such as the Portuguese man-of-war can be deadly or deliver a painful sting producing wounds that can last for weeks, months or years depending on the person and amount of contact.
They say that more jellyfish are a sign of a sick ocean, and describe them as the cockroaches of the ocean. Human caused stresses including global warming and over fishing are encouraging jellyfish surpluses in many tourist destinations around the world and most pronounced in the Mediterranean sea where the jellyfish are thriving in the damaged environment.
The good news is either our oceans are pretty clean or we have been very lucky. The number of jellyfish encounters this season has been at or below my personal recollection, only once this season have I been stopped in my tracks at the oceans edge debating whether I would let one or two jellyfish stop me from taking the plunge.
(**Note: BK volunteers at the NC Aquarium in Manteo every week and cleans the shark tank--while the sharks are in it!
Till Next Time
Your OBX Bloggers
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