Swarm of Giant Jellyfish Capsize 10-Ton Trawler

Hugh Pickens writes "The Telegraph reports that the Japanese trawler Diasan Shinsho-maru has capsized off the coast of China, as its three-man crew dragged their net through a swarm of giant jellyfish (which can grow up to six feet in diameter and travel in packs) and tried to haul up a net that was too heavy. The crew was thrown into the sea when the vessel capsized, but the three men were rescued by another trawler. Relatively little is known about Nomura's jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the Sea of Japan on the Tsushima Current, but last year there were virtually no sightings. In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures. Experts believe that one contributing factor to the jellyfish becoming more frequent visitors to Japanese waters may be a decline in the number of predators, which include sea turtles and certain species of fish. 'Jellies have likely swum and swarmed in our seas for over 600 million years,' says scientist Monty Graham of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama. 'When conditions are right, jelly swarms can form quickly. They appear to do this for sexual reproduction.'"

Comments

I don't mean to Troll

[Nerdfest]

But didn't human error capsize this ship?

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[2.7182]

No. Let's be clear about this. These jellyfish has bred near a nuclear reactor, and in addition to being intelligent, are quite evil. They did it. And they did it on purpose.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[OzPeter]

But didn't human error capsize this ship?

Another fine first post wasted by common sense and intelligence.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[mctk]

Mod parent trawl.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[chriss]

In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures.

In other news: Last year several thousands of SUVs were damaged by children who, for some reasons, were not constrained by their parents to stay inside all the time and instead failed to stay at the proper speed to move smoothly with the traffic. Due to the excellent structural protection from the SUVs their drivers did not suffer major physical injuries.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[Anonymous Coward]

In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures.

In other news: Last year several thousands of SUVs were damaged by children who, for some reasons, were not constrained by their parents to stay inside all the time and instead failed to stay at the proper speed to move smoothly with the traffic. Due to the excellent structural protection from the SUVs their drivers did not suffer major physical injuries.

It's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be. If you get the really big tires the little brats never even mess up the paint. Oh sure, sometimes a bicycle will damage a tire sidewall, but that's what roadside assistance if for, right?

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[Stupid McStupidson]

I'm a jellyfish overlord, you insensitive clod!

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[jdfox]

Re:I don't mean to Troll (Score: 15,500, Bait)

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[spongman]

in other news visitors from the middle east were tragically killed when the twin towers of the world trade center blocked the path of the jet they were traveling on. the pentagon building and a field in Pennsylvania were responsible for similar incidents.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[sstern]

Only an Iron Chef can save us. Send for Morimoto.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[R2.0]

"unless somebody doesn't actually know that troll and trawl do mean exactly the same thing in this case?"

Incorrect. Trawling is done using a net, typically in the open ocean. It scoops up a lot of different crap, as the fishermen found out.

Trolling is done with a hook and lure/bait. The slow forward motion of the boat makes the lure or bait appear to be alive, or the movement attracts the fish's eye.

Just a fun fact.

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[OakDragon]

...I don't really think a 'joke' this obvious should be marked funny.

I mod something as funny so that others, who may have their thresholds set higher, can have a chance to read it. Is this not a good use of the +1 Funny?

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[RichardJenkins]

I am not usually the one to yell "Mods on crack!" but I don't really think an 'explanation' this obvious should be marked insightful. Nothing personal. ... unless somebody doesn't actually know that trawl is a pun on troll in this case?

Re:I don't mean to Troll

[thisisaccount2]

I mod things as funny so others can yell "mods on crack".

My use of +1 Funny is clearly superior to your own.

I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[BadAnalogyGuy]

The worst part of this "invasion" is that the species isn't really tasty at all. Not to mention that every part of this particular jellyfish contains toxins. Every touching the top of the jellyfish will result in temporary numbness.

If they are proliferating because of a lack of predators, we should probably go ahead and kill as many of these as we can to maintain a good ecosystem balance.

Re:I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a big todo about nothing. Though jellyfish are a problem in and around Japan, it's not a problem in the seas of China because of the Chinese needle fish. It is confused for a snake (the Chinese needle snake) but is actually an eel. The easiest thing to do is to introduce the needle fish to the waters around Japan.

Re:I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[PitaBred]

But then where will we get eel-eating gorillas? I mean, snake-eating ones are a doddle, but eel-eating ones? Plus, do the eel-eating gorillas die over the winter?

Re:I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[squidfood]

Wouldn't the proliferation at least help the predator population? At least they're less likely to go hungry.

Being able to eat jellyfish profitably (they are not very nutritious) is an adaptation a relatively small number of predators (in particular turtles, a very limited number of mostly non-commercial fish) enjoy; those predators are mainly limited by other factors (like habitat damage on beaches) - hunger isn't a main issue for them right now.

That's the thing about jellies; they're really the end of the food chain (despite being low down) so if they bloom, there's not much predator control to bring then in check.

Re:I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[squidfood]

...stop/minimize hunting sea turtles or that species of fishes that controlled their numbers.

Not everything is subject to predator control. Jellies may be more limited (historically) by competition for food with small fishes. It's possible a combination of changing climate conditions favoring jellies over small fishes, and removal of competitors for zooplankton leads to these events rather than removing predators.

Re:I don't think we're ready for this jelly

[Culture20]

Well duh. Fish Jelly is the worst idea since slug paste.

Mystery solved

[Oyjord]

"Relatively little is known about Nomura's jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the Sea of Japan on the Tsushima Current, but last year there were virtually no sightings."

Godzilla had the munchies?

Soon:

[DemonBeaver]

Capsizing Jellyfish: The Hentai

Don't kill predators

[mangu]

If they are proliferating because of a lack of predators, we should probably go ahead and kill as many of these as we can to maintain a good ecosystem balance.

Wrong, we should stop killing predators. The seas have been overfished for too long, equilibrium is broken on so many levels that only true regulation and control of fishing will get any results.

After all, fishing is *so* primitive. Civilized people *grow* their food, hunter/gatherer economics are for barbarians.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Anonymous Coward]

CLUB HIM! CLUB HIM! The barbie-que is already fired up. You club him, I'll clean him!! He'll look good beside the eels, the shark steaks, and the dog steaks! I hear geek tastes like pork! Oh, I'm so excited, CLUB HIM!

Re:Don't kill predators

[Firkragg14]

If they didnt want to be eaten then why would they taste so good. Answer me that.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Runaway1956]

It's the feed. Ever eaten rabbit? A wild rabbit has a taste that is very distinctive. Farm raised rabbit has a rather soapy taste, so I won't eat it. The only difference is, wild rabbit eat what wild rabbits are SUPPOSED to eat - green vegetation. Farm raised rabbits eat prepared feed, which includes anti-biotics, possibly hormonal growth accelerators like they use for cattle - whatever the eggheads believe will grow the most meat for the least money. Farm fisheries are the same. It's near impossible to duplicate their natural diet, and if you could duplicate it, they would be far more expensive than wild fish.

Diet has everything to do with the flavor of the meat.

Re:Don't kill predators

[spitzak]

Um, "fresh" for fish means "not-frozen", and has nothing to do with whether it is farmed or not. I think the term you are looking for is "wild" or perhaps "not-farmed".

Re:Don't kill predators

[A Boy and His Blob]

So I wonder... would a farm rabbit raised on feed taste better if its diet were changed to something more natural say... a month or so... before it was killed? Or is this something that happens over the entire course of its life?

Re:Don't kill predators

[value_added]

So I wonder... would a farm rabbit raised on feed taste better if its diet were changed to something more natural say... a month or so... before it was killed?

Sure, but I don't know about a month.

Don't enjoy rabbit, so I'll pass on commenting. Chicken, on the other hand, if you feed one a steady diet of corn, you get golden-coloured and really tasty meat. Cows that are fed grass (as opposed to grain), give milk that tastes far better than what you'll find in the American supermarket aisles. The cheese made from that milk doubly so. The meat obviously is better too and priced accordingly.

It's a simple concept, really. Garbage in, garbage out.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Runaway1956]

Pigs have often been allowed to forage for mast, then penned up and fed corn and maybe some sweet feed for some weeks before slaughter. Remember that a hog is an omnivore, so free ranging hogs eat some really NASTY stuff!
Even today, farmers who slaughter their own hogs for private consumption will replace the commercially prepared feeds with corn.
Would it work for rabbits? Probably.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Brigadier]

I always thought it interesting that people think equilibrium is a ecosystem free of humans. Aren't humans a part of the ecosystem. True equilibrium is our food source dying, followed by world starvation. The environmental push has nothing to do with the environment but is in fact human preservation. Let's call it exactly what it is.

Re:Don't kill predators

[tomhudson]

The problem with farmed fish is that most of the meat is contaminated with parasites, such as sea lice.

Talk to anyone who works in a cannery that works with farmed fish - they'll tell you about having to pick the parasites off the flesh all day.

If these were land animals instead of fish, they would be classified as unfit for human consumption.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Runaway1956]

"If it were just diet, farmers would simply change the diet of the animal for the last couple of weeks to change the taste."

Whoosh?

If it were just diet, farmers would simply change the diet of the animal for the last couple of weeks to change the taste.

Canada

The majority of beef cattle in Ontario are finished on a corn (maize)-based diet, whereas Western Canadian beef is finished on a barley-based diet. This rule is not absolute, however, as producers in both regions will alter the mix of feed grains according to changes in feed prices. Research by the Ontario government claims that, while Alberta beef producers have organized a sucessful marketing campaign promoting Alberta's barley-fed beef, corn-fed and barley-fed beef have a similar cost, quality, and taste.[1]
----------------
Note the term "finished". They DO feed the cattle as cheaply as possible, until shortly before slaughter. THEN, they are finished with barley or corn.

Re:Don't kill predators

[2.7182]

My wifes a vegatarian and I keep telling her that she can eat beef, since it's made of grass...

Re:Don't kill predators

[syousef]

I always thought it interesting that people think equilibrium is a ecosystem free of humans. Aren't humans a part of the ecosystem.

Perhaps when we were dumb monkeys and there were something like 40,000 - 200,000 of us you could make this argument. However we grew brains and one result is that there are over 6 billion of us and growing. Not sustainable.

Re:Don't kill predators

[Civil_Disobedient]

The problem with farmed fish is that most of the meat is contaminated with parasites [wikipedia.org], such as sea lice [wikipedia.org].

The wikipedia article you link to does not say that most of the meat is contaminated. If you're going to make outrageous statements like this, please pick sources that actually back your claim.

Chiba != China

[gzipped_tar]

The boat turned turtle off the coast of Chiba, which is a Japanese port, rather than the coast of China. TFA did mention that the jellyfish's breeding location is off the Chinese coast though.

Hey there! FlashMob4Jellyfish is using Twitter

[jms]

"Relatively little is known about Nomura's jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the Sea of Japan on the Tsushima Current, but last year there were virtually no sightings."

Hey there! FlashMob4Jellyfish is using Twitter

WhN? 2day. Where? Sea of Japan. What? Jam as many of us into
a fishing net and capsize the boat.
4:48 PM Oct 9th from ocean

A much bigger problem

[Das Auge]

I saw a Nation Geographic (I think) special on this.

These jellyfish spawn off the cost of China, near Hong Kong. The increasing water temperature (since the end of the last ice age) coupled with the pollution that China dumps into the sea, has caused an explosion of the aforementioned animals. The jellyfish then float eastward, right into the Japanese fishing waters.

The Japanese have no real solution to this problem. Thy only thing they can do it try to kill as many jellyfish as they can (using bladed or hooked poles).

Here's when I venture into probably troll country: I'm okay with the affect the jellyfish are having. The way that the Japanese over-fish the oceans (not to mention killing whales), I'm okay with anything that slows them down. Now only if something could slow down the over-fishing done by the rest of the world. This includes the US, of which I'm a citizen.

I'm not a Green Peace lovin' (I hate 'em), tree hugging, nut job; but we really need to have some sort of international regulation (with punishments in the form of sanctions) on the fishing and care of the oceans. From over-fishing to habitat destruction (often a side affect of fishing) to pollution, we're well on our way to killing the oceans as we know them. Which will lead to the killing of our civilization as we know it. Not the end of it, mind you. Just the end of it as we know it.

Re:A much bigger problem

[maxume]

The best thing about good fisheries management is the increased harvests...

Re:A much bigger problem

[Das Auge]

There's no need for fisheries. It's been shown that simply cordoning off sections of the ocean where no one is allowed to fish at all, causes an explosion of sea life in the surrounding areas.

Well...okay, I take back part of what I said. We do need fisheries for shell fish. It's fishing for shell fish (especially shrimp) that causes so much of the habitat destruction. The trawlers rake scoops across the ocean beds to catch shrimp. Which annihilate the corral reefs.

Capsizing in a swarm of jellyfish

[mysidia]

That's got to be one of a mariner's worst nightmares...

Hard to top that... capsizing amidst a swarm of hungry sharks, maybe.

Oh no... there goes Tokyo...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there any doubt that these giant, radioactive jellyfish are headed for Japan? Fortunately, they probably can't move very well on land. so Tokyo Tower is safe.

Re:Oh no... there goes Tokyo...

[Bigjeff5]

You've obviously never seen giant, radioactive jellyfish before. They easily transition from water to air and hover over the city, soaking up the juice from the power lines (they use it to help them hover) before floating down to Tokyo Tower for some tenticle-based destruction. Oh and pr0n. Wherever there are tenticles in Japan, there's tenticle pr0n.

We must take action immediately!

[mister_playboy]

I move to petition Congress to recommission the USS Iowa and deploy it to the Sea of Japan.

Jellyfish born near China and hanging out near Japan will not be open to English-language negotiations, so we must instead negotiate with 16 inch guns. They will surely give in to a show of force... everyone knows jellyfish are spineless!

Is this a remake?

[magusxxx]

Great...can't wait for the Syfy movie. *rolling eyes*

Obligitory Jokes

[flyneye]

'When conditions are right, jelly swarms can form quickly. They appear to do this for sexual reproduction.'"

            Perhaps genetic experimentation to produce K.Y. Jellyfish would aid this.

THANK GOD FOR CAPTAIN SLASHDOT!

[SuperBanana]

Perhaps they should make winches that aren't strong enough to capsize a boat. Just a thought.

WOW, I'm sure decades of fishermen haven't considered that. Thank god we have Slashdot.

"What capsizes a boat" is probably very complicated- how loaded is it with fish? How high are the seas? How much water and fuel does it have on board? How much angular momentum does the boat have? How much water resistance does the hull give?

It's probably possible or even normal to haul up a load that, if you kept it hanging out on the crane, would slowly cause the ship to heel over too far, but if brought aboard relatively quickly, wouldn't...

So, that's why it sank so easily...

[karlandtanya]

I thought it sounded kinda small for a commercial vessel.

It was a Chibi-trawler.

Re:'Sexual' reproduction?

[John Hasler]

> As opposed to what? Cloning?

Well, yes, actually. Jellyfish reproduce both sexually and asexually.

Re:'Sexual' reproduction?

[Culture20]

As opposed to what? Cloning?

Actually, yes. Jellyfish normally asexually reproduce; essentially cloning. They can also sexually reproduce.

Re:'Sexual' reproduction?

[tomhath]

As opposed to what? Cloning?

No, as opposed to swarming for some other reason such as protection from predators, attacking Japanese fishermen, or as part of their agile software development process.

Its a potent of future diaster

[physburn]

Japanese nuclear radiation has stirred up Godzilla into an attack on one of the Cephalopod kings of the Major Arcana. The world is doomed. The only question is how we will die. Screaming Mad from Cthulhu, or Alien inversion from Waking Kraken.

---

Cryptozoology Feed @ Feed Distiller

Be prepared (or at least forewarned)

[Daetrin]

I am totally unsurprised by this development after reading about the 5 species that seem to be trying to take over the earth article at Cracked.com.

Re:'Sexual' reproduction?

[ThatsNotPudding]

Actually, yes. Jellyfish normally asexually reproduce; essentially cloning. They can also sexually reproduce.

Well, that's just being greedy.

This is happening in the US too

[MobyDisk]

In the Chesapeake Bay, jellyfish populations are proportional to pollution. Pollution kills the turtles that eat the jellyfish eggs and feeds the jellies. They don't mind the cruddy water.

Re:I don't mean to Trull

[uuddlrlrab]

I am not usually the one to yell "Mods on crack!" but I don't really think an 'attention grab' this obvious should be marked funny. Nothing personal...