Jellyfish At The Jersey Shore: How To Stop The Sting

NEW JERSEY — A jellyfish bloom in late July continues to keep the bays and lagoons busy with the creatures, and while bay nettles have gotten more attention, there are other jellyfish around to be watchful for, officials said.

The New Jersey Jellyspotters group on Facebook, led by Paul Bologna, a jellyfish expert and biology professor at Montclair State University, has had several photos posted to its page of jellyfish that have washed up on the ocean beaches.

Some are harmless with a sting that is barely felt if at all, such as the mushroom cap jellyfish. Others, such as the lion's mane jellyfish, pack a stronger sting.

The lion's mane is the largest jellyfish in the world, which can grow to as much as 6 feet across and has a sting that's moderately painful, according to the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences. One washed up in the Villas in late July, seen in photos shared there.

Other jellyfish commonly seen are the moon jellyfish, which the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences described as "disc-shaped, clear to whitish bell is about the size of a dinner plate, with fine tentacles that make a short fringe. Central gonads (in the shape of a 4-leafed clover) are prominent."

Salps, which are often mistaken for jellyfish, wash up in large quantities following a plankton bloom. They do not sting. They are a class of organisms called tunicates, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"Tunicates are not jellyfish, but are often mistaken for them due to their gelatinous nature. Salps are a common tunicate that can be encountered at an oceanic beach when conditions are favorable," the NJDEP says "These creatures are filter-feeders (their bodies are essentially water pumps), and they are not harmful to people due to the inability to sting."

Other jellyfish that are more unusual for the Jersey Shore but can show up are the Portuguese man o’ war, which has a substantial sting, and the Caribbean box jellyfish, according to Montclair State.

The bay nettles have posed the biggest annoyance, with multiple reports of stings. Bologna has the following advice if you get stung:

1. Pour white vinegar after the initial sting. This immobilizes any stinging cells which have not fired.
2. Then, pour salt water across the sting area to wash away any remaining tentacles. DO NOT pour fresh or bottled water over the area, because it causes osmotic shock to the stinging cells just immobilized and they will fire and continue to sting.
3. Wipe the area with a clean, dry cloth and then apply a hot compress to the area. The heat helps denature, or destroy, the venom proteins.

There also is a product called Sting No More, which is known to be effective against many venomous jellyfish, Bologna said.

One "remedy" to skip: "Urinating to treat a jellyfish sting is a myth, so we should not even give it the time of day," he said.

Want to learn more about bay nettles? Save Barnegat Bay is hosting a lagoon lab and presentation on Thursday, Aug. 10, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Shore Acres Club in Brick. Register here to participate.

"Bay Nettle Jellyfish have been a problematic species in Barnegat Bay since they first made their way to our waters, and their connection to the quality of our water and impact to ecosystems can’t be understated," the organization says on the event posting. The group's Jellyfish Student Grant team is set to present findings and "help connect the dots as we work to Stop the Sting!"