The world’s largest polyp animal is up to two meters in diameter and has threads up to 30 meters long. There are two of them in Norwegian waters.
Red jellyfish are more common and appear along the entire Norwegian coast, while blue are somewhat rarer and appear mainly in the southern and western parts of Norway.
– Jellyfish season is now underway, marine scientist Don Falkenhock tells Talkbladet, adding that observations of two species of jellyfish have been made along the Norwegian coast, including the Oslo Fjord.
The “death jellyfish” is approaching
Many factors
For now, there are no big blooms in question, the oceanographer continues.
– Do you think it will be?
– It’s easier to answer “yes” than “no” to that question, but it’s actually impossible to predict. “It depends on many factors, and we know little about controlling it,” Falkenhag replies.
– There are jellyfish in June, July and August. Whether there will be a strong bloom is more difficult to predict than the weather. “We’ve both had summers with many jellyfish and summers with some,” she continues.
The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research wants jellyfish watchers to inform themselves Here.
– I won’t swim anymore
in depth
Weather and wind can affect jellyfish summer, according to Falconhawk. El Nino, a weather phenomenon that causes higher surface temperatures in the oceans, has been announced, something that could affect the polyp fauna, he says.
– Jellyfish don’t thrive in very warm water, so this could mean jellyfish are moving deeper – to cooler water, the marine scientist says.
For weeks the warm weather in southern Norway has changed and sea breezes have pushed the warm surface layer out into the ocean.
– This water is then replaced by colder water from the depths, which in turn may spawn many jellyfish. It’s a classic phenomenon: When the wind returns, the jellyfish come, she adds:
– We don’t know how many jellyfish there are in the depths.
Unknown Effect: – Terrible
Further north
Blue jellyfish have moved further north in recent years. In 2021, the southern species was found off the coast of Finnmark.
– First we saw the blue jellyfish arriving in Oslofjord, from where it was then carried north with the coastal current. But this year we haven’t seen it as far north, as far off the coast of Finnmark, said researcher Don Falkenhock Marine Research Institute.
Blue jellyfish (Cyania lamarckii) thrive best in southern waters, but in the past ten years they have become more common in the northern part of the North Sea, NTB writes.
Unfortunately, the blue jellyfish will burn just like the red one, if you’re unlucky enough to get burned.
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