Swimmers and other bay users have noticed the apparent increase in sea nettles over the past few years. In 2010, the Ocean County Health Department (OCHD) and the Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) piloted the Sea Nettle Warning System. Bay and river beaches in nine Ocean County municipalities participated in the project in 2010. Employees of OCHD worked with lifeguards at the beaches to collect data and monitor the abundance of sea nettles present during the summer season. At each beach, information about the probability of encountering jellyfish that day was posted on a sign hanging from the lifeguard stand. BBP’s rack card, Get informed about Stinging Jellyfishes in these waters, which answers common questions about the presence of sea nettles in the bay, was also available at the lifeguard stands.
A second season of the Sea Nettle Warning System was conducted during the summer of 2011, and a third in 2012.
The sea nettle barrier project will not be repeated in 2013, since the participating towns are focusing their resources on recovery from Superstorm Sandy.
WARNING NETWORK ON YOUTUBE
Coming soon!
