Jellyfish concentration in Andaman Sea

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Kelvinyu73

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Messages
14
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Location
Shanghai
# of dives
500 - 999
My wife and me recently came back from a trip to Krabi, and we dived at Ao Nang islands and Phi Phi.

At Ao Nang, we were surprised by the number of jellyfish in the water - on the boat ride out, we also witnessed an entire colony ( ~ 100+).

My wife was unfortunately stung on her wrists during one of her dives :( and still recovering.

has anyone noticed this before, or is it seasonal ?

I did noticed on my dive comp the very high temperatures (31 degrees) in the water.

The jellyfish concentration levelled off, and dropped, the further out we went, and closer we were to Phi Phi.

If this is a common occurrence, shouldn't they put a jellyfish warning in place ?

anyway, a good learning experience for us. Just wondering if anyone else observed something similar.
 
It's quite normal to occasionally have jelly fish populations close to shore in the Andaman Sea. It happens sometimes in both the "high" and "low" (green) season.
Sometimes in the "green" season after stormy / rough weather jelly fish are being "pushed in" shallow water by surface currents. Other times it's just oceanic currents that bring them in.

Large populations of jelly fish are in general not all that common here though and most jellies encountered here are not all that venomous either. Putting up warnings is a bit over the top I guess.

They are beautiful creatures and part of the ocean environment and it's absolutely normal to see them from time to time when snorkeling, swimming or diving in any ocean in the world.
 
Hi Bowmouth,

thanks for the feedback. I suppose the south west monsoon in june assist in pushing the jellyfish inwards towards shallow water then....

anyway, couple of snorkellers and other divers on the same dive boat got stung too. the density of jellyfish in the water was too much to easily avoid them.

i guess a little local knowledge is a great thing....will keep this factoid in mind next time we're back in Krabi ... :)
 
You're welcome!

It's not a bad idea to wear a skin suit or (thin) wet suit when diving and/or snorkeling here in the "green" season (or actually any time of the year). It will help to keep the stinging creatures off (most of) your skin and works also great against sun burn.
 
believe it or not, both of us were wearing full suits....my wife got stung around the wrists (no gloves), and around her lips (surrounding the reg)....

now...what are the chances of something like that happening ? :confused:

you can plan for everything, but i guess nature will still have a surprise (or 2) in store....hehe
 
My wife and me recently came back from a trip to Krabi, and we dived at Ao Nang islands and Phi Phi.

At Ao Nang, we were surprised by the number of jellyfish in the water - on the boat ride out, we also witnessed an entire colony ( ~ 100+).

My wife was unfortunately stung on her wrists during one of her dives :( and still recovering.

has anyone noticed this before, or is it seasonal ?

I did noticed on my dive comp the very high temperatures (31 degrees) in the water.

The jellyfish concentration levelled off, and dropped, the further out we went, and closer we were to Phi Phi.

If this is a common occurrence, shouldn't they put a jellyfish warning in place ?

anyway, a good learning experience for us. Just wondering if anyone else observed something similar.

They come and go with the seasons and currents, sometimes in their thousands. No real way to predict them or warn people against them. If you see loads, don't jump in, if you're in already swim about with your hand over your lips and hope for the best.

If you're stuck doing loads of deco and they get you all over, make sure there's lots of vinegar and beer aboard
 
Which species of jellyfish are we talking about?

The Box Jellyfish, for example, is said to be one of the most venomous creatures on the planet:

The Chironex Box Jellyfish in Thailand and Malaysia and the Philippines and Indonesia is proven and documented to kill a human in a matter of seconds - the same as the Chironex in Australia.

Anyone have a photo of the creatures under discussion?
 
Last year those jelly fish were around for about 2 weeks, this year it has been more like 2 months! The winds have pushed them into the bay and it is more of a problem around our local islands. There are sites we go to regular down in Phi Phi at the moment, where maybe just 1 or 2 are seen during the dive. Water temperatures being well up all last winter are probably to blame. We have noticed a "drop" down to 31C recently!
 
Which species of jellyfish are we talking about?

The Box Jellyfish, for example, is said to be one of the most venomous creatures on the planet:



Anyone have a photo of the creatures under discussion?

No pictures of the jellyfish mentioned in this post, but my understanding is that they're rather harmless.

Here are two shots of a Morbakka box jellyfish, taken in the Gulf by me, just before a descent, about 6 hours away from Pattaya.

Morbakka with 4 small fish surrounding it

Morbakka with 4 small fish entangled
 
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