A STINGING MESSAGE
Record haul amazes irukandji expert as region’s beaches set to be closed again Storms put on a lightning show and when we can expect more
A STINGER expert has been amazed by a record number of potentially deadly irukandji jellyfish that have invaded Cairns’ beaches.
It comes as surf life savers expect to close all of Cairns’ beaches – between Ellis and Holloways – for the remainder of the week to protect swimmers from the venomous marine creatures, with emergency services treating half a dozen people for stings since Friday.
James Cook University marine stinger researcher Dr Jamie Seymour and colleagues have been collecting irukandji jellyfish at Palm Cove and Double Island for the past week and a half.
Dr Seymour said they had collected more than 600 of the thumbnail-sized jellyfish, a record for his team.
“I’ve seen more of these animals in the last week and a half than I have in my entire 25year career,” he said.
“Before that, the closest was 280, but then we’ve now had 400 in just one night.”
Warm northerly winds have long been suspected to be the main driver behind bringing irukandji blooms to the coast.
However, Dr Seymour believed there may be other factors at play that were not thoroughly understood.
“We’ve had nights where we’ve caught 10 animals, and others where we’ve caught 400,” he said.
“We just don’t know enough about the animals, which is why we need to do more research about them.”
Irukandji jellyfish collected by the JCU team will be used for venom collection for use in antivenoms and in experiments examining the chemical footprint – eDNA – of the species in seawater.
Surf Life Saving Queensland has asked beachgoers, particularly pregnant women and those with medical conditions, to heed warning signs and not venture into the water until local beaches are clear of the marine stingers.
SLSQ Far North regional manager Rob Davidson recommends that once the beaches have reopened, people swim inside stinger enclosures, wearing full-body lycra bodysuits to protect against jellyfish stings.
He expressed some disappointment that tourists were among the six people who had been stung by jellyfish, swimming outside of stinger enclosures at Palm Cove.
“It comes down to the tourism accommodation houses just presenting a united educational message that in Far North Queensland, at this time of the year, it’s a high-risk season,” he said.
“The only safe place to swim is inside the marine stinger enclosure, if it’s open.
“If people have questions, our life guards are generally there between 8-9am and continue through to about 5pm.
“They’re a wealth of knowledge, and if they don’t know anything, they’re more than happy to find out.”
Several species of the thumbnail-sized jellyfish have been found to cause potentially fatal stings, which have killed two people in Australia.