Thousands of pink jellyfish fill waters deserted by tourists in the Philippines during COVID-19 pandemic
- 4 years ago
Thousands of pink jellyfish returned to a popular beach in the Philippines after it was deserted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The magnificent bloom of jellyfish appeared off the coast of the Corong Corong Beach in the Palawan archipelago on March 23.
Normally the area is packed with boats ferrying tourists around, kayakers, snorkellers or beachgoers crowding the sands.
But local fisherman noticed the incredible sight while they were sailing through the empty waters last week.
Alimar Amor said he went to the area to catch some fish with his friend but the marine creatures were there.
He said: ''I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before. Normally this area is very busy with tourists.''
Scientists are now studying the incredible jellyfish bloom, which was also seen earlier in the month of March 11.
Sheldon Rey Boco, co-founder of the Philippine Jellyfish Stings Project, said the creatures in the video were Crambione cf. mastigophora, commonly called “tomato” jellyfish and locally known as 'labong-labong'.
He said: ''There are years when blooms or populations of a jellyfish are high and there are also years when they are few or even almost absent.''
The scientist said the bloom could be caused by a combination of atmospheric conditions and an abundance of food in the water.
He said: ''These months the jellyfish probably have enough nutrients, abundance of jellyfish food and higher temperature that have 'accelerated' the production of ephyrae or growth of medusae.
''These hundreds or thousands of medusae are probably present in late January or February but because of wind, current and tidal conditions, they only seem to appear during March in Palawan. The atmosphere, water velocity, current, tide and even geological features of the bay or any body of water can influence the occurrence of medusae and their blooms.''
The Palawan Provincial Fishery Office said that jellyfish blooms can appear during particularly hot spells.
The magnificent bloom of jellyfish appeared off the coast of the Corong Corong Beach in the Palawan archipelago on March 23.
Normally the area is packed with boats ferrying tourists around, kayakers, snorkellers or beachgoers crowding the sands.
But local fisherman noticed the incredible sight while they were sailing through the empty waters last week.
Alimar Amor said he went to the area to catch some fish with his friend but the marine creatures were there.
He said: ''I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before. Normally this area is very busy with tourists.''
Scientists are now studying the incredible jellyfish bloom, which was also seen earlier in the month of March 11.
Sheldon Rey Boco, co-founder of the Philippine Jellyfish Stings Project, said the creatures in the video were Crambione cf. mastigophora, commonly called “tomato” jellyfish and locally known as 'labong-labong'.
He said: ''There are years when blooms or populations of a jellyfish are high and there are also years when they are few or even almost absent.''
The scientist said the bloom could be caused by a combination of atmospheric conditions and an abundance of food in the water.
He said: ''These months the jellyfish probably have enough nutrients, abundance of jellyfish food and higher temperature that have 'accelerated' the production of ephyrae or growth of medusae.
''These hundreds or thousands of medusae are probably present in late January or February but because of wind, current and tidal conditions, they only seem to appear during March in Palawan. The atmosphere, water velocity, current, tide and even geological features of the bay or any body of water can influence the occurrence of medusae and their blooms.''
The Palawan Provincial Fishery Office said that jellyfish blooms can appear during particularly hot spells.