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2010-02-22 04:18:27 - Biological Hazard - Australia EDIS CODE: BH-20100222-25022-AUS
Date & Time: 2010-02-22 04:18:27 [UTC]
Area: Australia, State of Queensland, Mackay Beaches, Not confirmed information! Description: The central Queensland town of Mackay is in the grip of a box jellyfish invasion with the deadly creatures being dragged from the popular harbour beach in record numbers and hundreds more floating just offshore waiting for the right conditions to move in. Mackay lifeguard supervisor Paul Barker said he had never seen so many of the toxic stingers in just a few days in all his almost 20 years of manning the local beaches. He blames warmer water temperatures and a combination of flood runoff followed by clear conditions for attracting them. "We caught one small one on Monday (last week) and then 22 on Tuesday and 30 on Wednesday and by the end of the week it was 56 all-up actually netted and eight that washed up," said Mr Barker. "I've never seen as many." The jellyfish ranged from half-grown ones to others twice the size of a man's fist. Mr Barker said the local shark contractor checking his nets about 200-300 metres offshore from the Mackay Harbour Surf Club had reported hundreds more floating just off the beach. Yet lifesavers were still warning about 10 or 15 swimmers a day not to go into the water. The harbour beach was usually only closed once a year because of marine stingers but this season it had been shut around 15 times. Mr Barker said removing the poisonous jellyfish from the nets after drags of 25 to 50 metres was a delicate and dangerous operation with lifesavers wearing double-sided suits and two pairs of gloves with boots taped down at the ankles with no skin exposed. "We think it's the warmer water this year," he said. "The temperature is usually 26-27 degrees but for the last couple of weeks it's been around 30-31 degrees and fairly still and as the dirty water has cleared they've all come in." Mr Barker said some of the box jellyfish had been preserved in glass bottles and would be collected and used by Surf Life Saving Queensland for educational purposes. Box jellyfish can kill a person within three minutes by causing them to have a heart attack or stop breathing.
The name of Hazard: Box jellyfish invasion
Species: Animal
Status: Confirmed
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