South Beach — For only the second time in a decade, small but extremely painful jellyfish have been found swarming the stretch of coast from South Beach to Midland. Countless thousands of clinging jellyfish, about the size of a fist, were found Thursday washed up along the soon to be crowded beach. Professor Paul Bologna, who heads up the Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences Center at Montclair State University, says there’s cause for concern if you’re heading into the water.
“They really don’t like sharing their habitat with humans,” Bologna told the Staten Island Advance. “In fact, although slow moving, they’re very adept at honing in to a potential target to inflict their painful sting when they sense they’re being threatened.”
The pain from jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings may be intense and may last for several hours. The skin at the site of the stings may look dusky or bluish purple. Blisters and deep sores (ulcers) may develop. Healing is generally a slow process that may take many weeks. Permanent scars may occur at the site of a sting.
Small children are at risk for stings in the mouth if they put a jellyfish or portion of a tentacle in their mouths. A sting to the mouth or throat can cause sudden and severe swelling, which can be life-threatening.
Officials are weighing whether or not to ban swimming at the local beaches and said closure will be a “game time” decision.
There’s no sign of any of these jellyfish further south at the moment, although Bologna stresses they haven’t been looking for them here.
There is another similar jellyfish known to inhabit local waters that looks very much like these clinging jellyfish “We have something called bougainvillea which is very small and has that similar ‘x’ pattern that these clinging jellyfish have,” Bologna added. “But it’s not going to sting you. It’s a very common, native species.”