Jellyfish Invasion In The French Riviera

At this time of the year, the pristine blue waters of the French Riviera, also known as Cote d'Azur is normally swarming with tourists. However, this year, the guests enjoying the ocean are not humans, but a species of jellyfish known as the 'Mauve Stingers'.

The Mauve Stingers are beautiful to look at - they even glow in the dark - however their eight tentacles can extend two meters long and contact with them results in painful burns.

Needless to say, they are causing havoc at the beaches. Officials say on some days the situation is so bad that they receive as many as 500 calls for treatment. Recently, a group of young kids had to be rescued after jellyfish surrounded their raft.

Officials at the resorts are trying to figure out how to make the waters safe. The towns of Cannes and Monaco have installed nets to create protected areas where tourists can swim safely. In the town of Antibes, a 30ft catamaran, described as a 'jellyfish moover', patrols the area and scoops up any jellyfish they can find. Other towns are forbidding swimming when the jellyfish to human ratio becomes too high. Some Europeans have just taken to swimming in full wetsuits, through which the jellyfish cannot penetrate.

Since jellyfish have no control over their movements and are completely dependent on wind and tide currents, they vanish almost as quickly as they appear. Some days the beaches are totally clear of this menace, other days they show up in droves

Jellyfish invasions such as these are not unusual in this area. Scientists have documented the 'jellyfish soup' since the 1800's. However, they usually came every 10-12 years and then disappeared in about 4 years. This time around they have been at the beaches for eight straight years and show no signs of leaving.

The jellyfish population seems to have simply exploded. Scientists attribute this to a number of reasons. The natural predators of jellyfish; tuna, sharks and turtles are being killed in large numbers. Also as other fish die, jellyfish are thriving because of a larger supply of plankton (tiny plants and animals). Lastly, while other fish are affected adversely by the rising ocean temperatures - jellyfish are thriving.

Hopefully, scientists will figure out how to reduce the population explosion and make the beaches of Cote d'Azur safe again.

Sources:Time Inc., Telegraph.co.uk, Independent.co.uk.