Jellyfish
stings occur often in local waters
Jellyfish
like the West Coast Nettles (top) and the
elegant Purple Stripe Jellyfish (bottom)
are common to local Southern California
waters. They are beautiful but their stings
can send a hurtful message.
By Cassady Jeremias
Summer Forty-Niner
Sharks are a scary thought when swimming
in the ocean, but a smaller, more common
predator, the jellyfish, often lurks close
to shore drifting on ocean currents, stinging
anything in its path, including humans.
Jellyfish
are fairly common in the waters off Southern
California, especially at wide beaches without
jetties or coves for protection.
Stings
at Huntington State Beach got so common
that each individual tower now keeps a mixture
of vinegar and water, the antidote to jellyfish
stings.
Kei
Weisser, a marine safety officer at Huntington
Beach and lifeguard since 1979, said jellyfish
are generally associated with warmer water,
and summer months. He said sometimes jellyfish
weighing as much as ten pounds wash up onto
the beach.
"We
get quite a few. On a good day we can see
between ten and twenty stings, and there
are days where you get none," he said.
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