Swarms of Jellyfish Invade Israeli Beaches
The seasonal swarm of jellyfish which arrived on Israeli beaches over the last weekend, made their way to the north of the country.
According to reports by the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute, jellyfish were sighted one kilometer off the beach of Hadera on Sunday. On Saturday, blooms were sighted west of Mikhmoret beach, and near Netanya only a day earlier.
The first report of jellyfish arrived last week, when fishermen reported a bloom of jellyfish in an area between 500 meters and two and half kilometers from Ashkelon beach. Some Ashkelon bathers complained of stinging. Yesterday similar complaints were made among Tel Aviv bathers.
The species of jellyfish arriving annually at Israel’s beaches originally entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal several decades ago, and have since reproduced. Apart from their sting, the jellyfish harm fisherman by stuffing their nets, and have been known to block cooling system openings of power plants. They are estimated to be between 20-60 cm long.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO