Warmer waters bring wads of jellies.
Global warming seems to be nurturing a worldwide explosion of jellyfish, not only allowing greater numbers of jellies to survive through the winter but also heating up north Atlantic waters where conditions are becoming favorable for Mediterranean jellyfish to thrive. Recall the smack that killed all 100,000 fish in an Irish Sea salmon farm. If you have a New Scientist subscription, read more here.
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Yesterday, from Seafood.com News:
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Bluebottle jellyfish, Physalia utriculus
Also known as the Portuguese Man O' War.
It is not a true jellyfish.
It appears that jellyfish numbers are increasing in various oceans of the world. This includes a recent increase in giant Nomura's jellyfish in Japan, rafts of jellyfish that swamped…
My first thought whenever I hear of a human interaction causing a species to become overpopulous or invasive is to ask.. What does it taste like? Its the only time when eating "does" solve all your problems. Take that dieting industry.
Jules Verne predicted it more than 100 years ago. In his "20,000 leagues under the sea" he had Captain Nemo say "when humans will remove the last whale and sperm whale, the sea will be filled with squid and jellyfish". It took the rest of the world a century to figure out.
That's not the only newcomer to northern waters. Atlantic snake pipefish have lately shown up hundreds of kilometres north of their traditional range. Their northward expansion's also attributed to global warming.
I summarized some recent research on this at New Fish Arrives in Arctic Ocean
I wonder if we'll be capable of eating all the jellies or snake pipefish we'll be offered (great article, Liz!). And I wonder if Daniel Pauly knows if he's been quoting Captain Nemo all these years...