Jellyfish invasion?

2003-10-20 13:49

Tokyo - Thousands of giant jellyfish, some with caps as big as the trunk of a car, have appeared off Japan's west coast for the second straight year, entangling themselves in fishing nets, an official said on Monday.

Since mid-September, the jellyfish, spanning more than a metre in width and weighing 100kgs, have been found in the Japan Sea off the coast of Echizen, in Fukui prefecture (state), said Katashi Sugimoto, a prefectural fisheries official.

The last time the jellyfish turned up along Japan's coast for a second consecutive year was in 1995, he said. The only other time was in 1958.

Rising water temperatures

Scientists say the species, identified as stomolophus nomurai, was first discovered in the East China Sea. It's unclear why the jellyfish began appearing sporadically in the Japan Sea, between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, from 1920, though scientists believe rising water temperatures are to blame.

The jellyfish can grow as long as five metres from cap to tentacle tip. The poison in their tentacles isn't lethal to humans.

In early September and October, fishermen trawling the Japan Sea coastline began catching the jellyfish, sometimes as many as a thousand at a time, Sugimoto said.

Many fishermen have complained that the jellyfish hurt profits by killing or stunning fish and shrimp trapped in their nets. This year's bountiful summer haul may offset some of the expected losses, Sugimoto said.

Although dried and cured jellyfish are used in Chinese cooking, they are rarely eaten in Japan. After last year's jellyfish explosion, some fishing associations experimented selling what they caught to local residents.

- AP