Hundreds Of Jellyfish Remain Ashore At Ocean Beach
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN) -- While most of the thousands of jellyfish that recently washed ashore at Ocean Beach had been washed back out to sea by high tide, officials said several hundred remained as of Tuesday and they encouraged beach patrons to leave them alone.
The incident was likely due to a combination of a large swell and an increase in the species' population in the area, National Park Service spokesman George Durgerian said.
More than 10,000 circular, translucent moon jellyfish washed ashore over the weekend in an area about three miles long and 20 feet wide between Pacheco Street and Lawton Street.
Durgerian said strandings frequently occur in the area during the summer and fall, but usually they're in much smaller numbers than what occured in recent days.
"That makes this case unusual but not alarming," he said.
Marine biologists with the park service determined there had been an upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water near the ocean surface, which made it easier for jellyfish to reproduce, causing their population to soar.
"The higher numbers at the beach may simply reflect higher numbers in the water," Durgerian said.
Park officials will allow nature to take its course with the remaining jellyfish carcasses on the beach.
"Unless there's a public health hazard like a whale or it gives off a significant odor, we're not going to bury or remove something from the beach, and there's no impressive stench from these things," Durgerian said.
He noted that the dead jellyfish do not pose a threat.
"Every national park discourages visitors from picking up wildlife, whether it's alive or dead," he said. "We prefer natural processes to take them back into the sea or decompose, and that's what's going to happen."
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