Beach ball-sized jellyfish sightings reported in South Carolina
Half a dozen sightings of Australian spotted jellyfish, an invasive species that can grow as large as a beach ball, have been reported in South Carolina waters.
One such jellyfish was spotted in Murrells Inlet, a creek about 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach last week, says a report received by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, CNN reported.
Chris Collins and wife Kari were boating on the evening of Oct. 28 when they spotted what they thought was “maybe a sea turtle or a large sting ray,” but quickly discovered was a jellyfish, Collins told CNN.
The couple took pictures of the curious-looking jelly, which didn’t resemble any they’d seen prior, so they asked SCDNR to identify it through the photos they posted on Facebook.
“As its name implies, the Australian spotted jellyfish ain’t from around here — but it has been introduced far and wide beyond its original range in the Pacific,” SCDNR said Wednesday on Facebook, sharing Collins' photos.
The species “can form large ‘blooms’ that gobble up fish and shellfish eggs,” the department said, noting the jellies can also cause damage to boats and fishing gear.
The department requested people report any sightings to help federal researchers keep an eye on the jellies, which can grow to a diameter of more than 17 inches, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.
The recent sightings have largely been jellies that “washed up onshore,” NAS program director Wesley M. Daniel told CNN.
“An established Australian spotted jellyfish population occurs in waters east of the Mississippi River in the northern Gulf of Mexico,” said Daniel. “We do not know the status of the South Carolina population at this moment.”
