Harmful jellyfish presence on the rise along Rameswaram coast

As it is vacation time, devotees and tourists are thronging the island town of Rameswaram, the land’s tip in Tamil Nadu to visit the Ramanathaswamy temple and to enjoy the pristine beaches near Mandapam.

But what worries the officials is the presence of poisonous jellyfish in the waters near the shore. These transparent and attractive marine organisms are now found in large numbers in the sea here. As the sea is calm near Mandapam, people prefer to go for a swim. These organisms are found at various depths and they often sting the swimmers causing infections, which at times turn out to be poisonousp. 

Recently their population has found to be on the rise in the coastal areas of Rameswaram and Mandapam. The forest officials have, therefore, issued a caution the tourists to stay away and protect themselves from these marine organisms. 

A forest official, who spotted the jellyfish while clearing the turtle eggs on Rameswaram coast, said the jellyfish look transparent and attractive. Tourists might not be able to spot them. But when they accidentally touch these jellyfish, they would sting the people in self-defence.

Children are mostly prone to attacks by these marine organisms, because kids out of curiosity would go near the jellyfish and get stung by them. The poison effect depends on the species of jellyfish. Moon type jellyfish, which are said to be less poisonous, are the ones that are found in large numbers on the Indian coast. A sting might create skin rashes and swelling at times. At present, Moon type jellyfish are found in groups on Aviyaman beach, a popular tourist spot near Mandapam coast. 

A group of fishermen, who spotted them, immediately alerted the officials who in turn cautioned the tourists visiting the region. These organisms are said to be found up to a distance of up to 2 km from the coast, informed the officials.