The return of mauve stingers jellyfish not only wipe out fish farm but also left bathers injured along coasts. Recently the jellyfish attacked salmon fish farm of worth pound 1 million in Northern Ireland. It is said that the mass invasion of this fatal creature could bring devastating consequences along British coastal areas. Scientists have urgent operation to prevent these deadly creatures from British waters. Many scientists believe that global warming is the main reason behind the appearance of killer jellyfish in the Irish Sea. In November billions of jellyfish wiped out 120,000 salmon in Glenarm Bay in Antrim.
Even in the coast of Scotland a second swarm of jellyfish was sighted but there were no reports of damage. Jon Houghton, marine biologist from Swansea University, until now jellyfish were viewed as bags of water that had little or no impact on the ecosystem. “But the recent attack showed that their behaviour and breeding patterns in the waters are subject to learn”, said Houghton. Houghton and his team were granted an aid of pounds 50,000 by the Natural Environment Research Council to start new study on to these killer stingers.
According to Houghton a basic information about their numbers is the first thing to know by sending researchers out on the ferries from the ports such as Fishguard, Holyhead, Larne, Rosslare and others. He confirmed that the researchers will determine the exact numbers and the health of these killer jellyfish in British waters. Dr Tom Doyle, of the Coastal and Marine Resources Centre at University College, Cork, said, “We even have to watch their bloom like the sudden rise in 2007.” He pointed out that the team needs to know the basic ecological data that does not exist at present at their disposal. Doyle informed that blooms of jellyfish have been witnessed in the past and it was so tick that beaches glow at night.
