{"id":433900,"date":"2026-01-28T02:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T02:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/433900\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T02:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T02:15:07","slug":"gelatinous-horde-of-red-stinging-jellyfish-washes-into-melbourne-beaches-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/433900\/","title":{"rendered":"Gelatinous horde of red stinging jellyfish washes into Melbourne beaches | Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swimmers have been advised to steer clear if they see red jellies in the water after a gelatinous horde descended on Melbourne<\/a> beaches.<\/p>\n

Thousands of lion\u2019s mane jellyfish have washed into the shallows and on to the sand across Port Phillip Bay, from Altona in the west to Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula.<\/p>\n

The Port Phillip Baykeeper, Neil Blake, said a bloom of that size was a rare event, last seen about four years ago. The influx followed a bloom of bluebottles that washed up on Victorian beaches in December.<\/p>\n

jellyfish floating in water<\/a><\/p>\n

Their presence ebbed and flowed with the wind and waves, although numbers appeared to have declined from a week ago when the arrival of a \u201cmassive smack\u201d of jellies caused the closure of one Melbourne beach.<\/p>\n

Most of the current lot were about the size of a peach, he said, with \u201cquite long tentacles\u201d stretching up to about a metre, sometimes more. Some could reportedly grow up to a metre across<\/a>, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe joys of an Australian summer!\u201d said Bayside city council<\/a> on social media, noting jellyfish sightings and strandings were a natural and seasonal occurrence.<\/p>\n

The council, with coastline stretching from Brighton to Beaumaris, advised beachgoers to take care when swimming, walking barefoot on the sand, or with dogs.<\/p>\n

Their sting could be painful, and potentially dangerous for young children, older people and those with allergies.<\/p>\n

A lion\u2019s mane jellyfish below Frankston pier in Melbourne, Friday 23 January 2026. Photograph: Jay Kogler\/AAP<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can see jellyfish in the shallows, don\u2019t swim,\u201d a Life Saving Victoria spokesperson advised. \u201cStick to patrolled beaches and always swim between the red and yellow flags. Don\u2019t touch jellyfish on the sand as they can still sting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re stung, get out of the water and seek help from a lifesaver or lifeguard if present,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cRinse with seawater, remove any tentacles carefully, use hot water for pain relief, and call 000 if there are any serious symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The species, Cyanea annaskala, is native to south-eastern Australia, but their recent unusual numbers close to shore is thought to be linked to warm water, nutrients and onshore winds.<\/p>\n

Jellyfish expert Dr Jonathan Lawley said lion\u2019s mane jellies were \u201cnot very good swimmers\u201d, and tended to drift with the current and the wind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often only observe them when the tide and currents bring them to shore \u2013 that\u2019s when we see these huge numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

A jellyfish near the shore at Sandringham beach in Melbourne, Friday 23 January 2026. Photograph: Jay Kogler\/AAP<\/p>\n

The jellyfish stage was only a temporary part of their life cycle, he said. Larvae, called polyps, lay at the bottom of the sea until the right conditions triggered them to \u201cstrobilate\u201d \u2013 dividing into dozens of tiny baby jellyfish.<\/p>\n

The trigger might be a change in temperature, Lawley said, or other factors like rainfall or food availability could play a role.<\/p>\n

There was little evidence to support sensationalist fears of a looming \u201cjellygeddon\u201d due to climate change, he said. Some species may be increasing in response to global heating, while others were thought to be in decline.<\/p>\n

Jellies were often viewed negatively due to their risk to the public, he said, but they performed an important role in the food web and the environment. Some fish appeared to use jellyfish swarms as protection against predators.<\/p>\n

Blooms could persist for days or weeks, he said, until the adults spawned and died, or were eaten by other marine animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Swimmers have been advised to steer clear if they see red jellies in the water after a gelatinous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-433900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}