Thousands of jellyfish swarmed a Florida beach. Watch the invasion on drone video

A sea of ramen-like jellyfish took over a beach in Florida this week, and a photographer used her drone to catch the sight on video.

Amber Fletcher had recently arrived home from taking photos of sharks, dolphins and rays with a friend at Pensacola Beach, when they were alerted Tuesday afternoon about thousands of jellyfish swarming near shore.

Fighting the afternoon traffic, the Pensacola-based photographers rushed to Navarre Beach in their converted vans. Fletcher flew a drone from a parking lot, and friend Shane Dye jumped in the water on top a paddleboard.

Drone photo captures thousands of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Amber Fletcher (amberfletcher.com)
Drone photo captures thousands of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Amber Fletcher (amberfletcher.com)

Helping each other locate the massive gathering of sea nettle jellyfish, they spotted the creatures huddling by the pier. Fletcher said she knew a group of jellyfish was in the area but she didn’t imagine so many.

“It was absolutely mind-blowing,” the 34-year-old told the Miami Herald. “It doesn’t even look real.”

Drone photo captures thousands of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Amber Fletcher (amberfletcher.com)
Drone photo captures thousands of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Amber Fletcher (amberfletcher.com)

One of the photos Fletcher took shows Dye on his paddleboard completely surrounded by the aquatic invertebrates. Dye said that once he got up he realized he could fall into the water and die. Despite that, he took underwater photos from the paddleboard.

“It was definitely terrifying,” the 32-year-old said.

Underwater photo captures scores of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Shane Dye (delunavision.com)
Underwater photo captures scores of jellyfish in Navarre Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Shane Dye (delunavision.com)

The duo said that within 45 minutes of their arrival, the jellyfish had mostly departed.

“I was excited to actually catch something that people do not normally get to see,” Dye said.

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