Native Information
Lion’s mane jellyfish have been noticed within the metropolis’s outer harbor at Niles Seaside.
Gloucester officers are warning beachgoers to be looking out after lion’s mane jellyfish have been noticed within the metropolis’s outer harbor.
Officers issued an advisory for Niles Seaside and close by areas on Saturday.
“These jellyfish can ship painful stings—even after they’ve washed ashore—so please use warning and keep away from any jellyfish you might even see,” the town’s advisory learn.
The lion’s mane jellyfish, thought of an enormous jelly, is “very poisonous,” though there are few reviews of human fatalities from the stings, in response to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They will develop to be greater than three ft in diameter with tentacles longer than 100 ft, with the biggest of the species sometimes present in Arctic waters.
A virtually five-foot-wide lion’s mane jellyfish washed up in South Portland, Maine in June.
Larry Madin, an emeritus scientist on the Woods Gap Oceanographic Establishment, instructed The Boston Globe the jellyfish is “not as severe a jellyfish as a Portuguese Man O’ Battle.”
Nonetheless, he mentioned, it’s finest to maintain your distance in the event you see one.
“The tentacles with stinging cells can nonetheless sting so long as they’re nonetheless moist,” he instructed the Globe. “Don’t choose it up.”
Gloucester officers mentioned they’ve reached out to the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for steering on coping with giant jellyfish. Within the meantime, officers mentioned they may hold individuals out of the water the place jellyfish are current, put up a warning flag if vital numbers are seen at Good Harbor Seaside, and limit entry or shut seashores completely relying on jellyfish exercise.
“Metropolis employees are monitoring the scenario intently this morning and can replace as wanted,” officers wrote.
As of Wednesday, all Gloucester seashores have been open.
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