OCEAN CITY, MD. (WBFF) — After weeks of unusually high jellyfish sightings and sting reports along Maryland beaches, the swarm appears to be declining, according to officials.
Sea nettles appeared in force from late July through mid-August, leaving swimmers with welts, emptying stretches of surf and pushing some visitors toward hotel pools. Ocean City Beach Patrol said most first-aid contacts during that stretch were jellyfish-related, although the city does not separately track stings and no state agency counts coastal jellyfish populations.
August is typically Maryland’s peak jellyfish month and their numbers should fall as water temperatures drop, DNR spokesperson Gregg Bortz said.
In a Sunday Facebook post, the Ocean City Fire Department deadpanned that crews used thermal-imaging equipment from a fire boat, and sent a firefighter into the water to check for jellyfish.
Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.
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