Jellyfish swarms continue to grow

Records of jellyfish swarms over the past 200 years show that jelly populations rise naturally every 12 years, remain stable four or six years, and then subside again. Since the turn of the century, however, the pattern has been broken and their numbers have continued to escalate year after year.

Severe jellyfish stings, and deaths, have become such a serious problem in the last thirty years, that the University of Maryland created a 'Consortium of Jellyfish Stings' in 1988 to compile and distribute information about these injuries, to help doctors around the world become more famililiar with the incidence of stings, their manifestations, complications, and treatment.

Currently there are more than 10 species under large scale study. The box jellyfish, which is considered by many to be the world's most venomous animal, with a venom capable of killing a human in less than 15 minutes of excruciating pain, is subject to the most intense scrutiny for obvious reasons. It is found in Australian estuaries and inshore waters of the seven seas between norther Australian, Singapore and the Philipines. It is responsible for at least one Australian death per year, on average, and an estimated 40 or more in the rest of its range.