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Countless jellyfish leave Probolinggo waters after stealing locals’ attention
Although such jellyfish sightings are considered a common yearly occurrence, many local residents still wanted to witness the alluring creatures themselves.
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A young boy watches two Brown Sea Nettle jellyfish displayed in a tank of the Melbourne Aquarium in Australia on Dec. 19, 2006. (AFP/William West)
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meta charset="utf-8">The arrival of countless jellyfish in the waters of Tanjung Tembaga Port and other fishing ports in Mayangan district, Probolinggo, East Java, on Monday has become the talk of the town.
The marine animals, however, had gone out of sight by Tuesday afternoon, reported kompas.com.
“I still saw a good number [the jellyfish] just a little bit earlier. Most of the locals also saw them and took pictures with their mobile phones,” a Tanjung Tembaga port officer who declined to be identified said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.
“But at noon, I saw that the jellyfish were beginning to swim away, heading north.”
Locals around Tanjung Tembaga Port reported sightings of the jellyfish swimming on the surface of the water.
Read also: Jellyfish thrive in the man-made disruption of the oceans
Although such jellyfish sightings are considered a common yearly occurrence, many local residents still wanted to witness the alluring creatures themselves.
“This is a sort of entertainment for us. However, we have to stop swimming at the beach for a while because these jellyfish will make our bodies itch,” Tanjung Tembaga Port resident Neli said on Monday.
The jellyfish began showing up in the area last week. However, the local administration and residents ignored the sea creatures as they usually disappear on their own.
Fisherman Saifudin conceded that the jellyfish disturbed fishing activities as they often get stuck on a boat’s propellers.
“We usually try to navigate our ship to avoid the jellyfish,” he said. (dpk)
