Audience effects

study into the mauve stinger. “The trouble is that we know so little about jellyfish,” says Haughton. Most people think of them as having little impact on ecosystems. “Now we need to learn, very quickly, about their behaviour and about their breeding patterns in our waters.” The team is getting its first basic data by monitoring the number of jellyfish spotted from the decks of ferries crossing the Irish Sea. This will be followed by work on research vessels in the coming months trawling for jellyfish in a careful pattern to determine the numbers and distribution of the jellyfish. The researchers hope to gather the basic data needed to predict whether last year’s jellyfish bloom, which was unprecedented in size in these waters, is likely to occur again in the near future. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities are already working out the best way of protecting beaches from the expected appearance of the mauve stinger. They cannot simply be netted, as this would also trap other marine organisms because they can sink to depths of several metres. And if the fragile creatures are damaged, detached tentacles maintain their poison for some time and can themselves drift in towards beaches. The best measure so far has been to send flotillas of small boats offshore to scoop up jellyfish at the surface using small nets. The Spanish environment minister, Cristina Narbona, admits more effort is needed. Researchers believe that a year-round programme of monitoring needs to continue and propose a list of specific measures: to station jellyfish hunting boats at beaches under threat; to provide local people and tourists with information on how to protect themselves; and to close beaches to bathers when necessary. But more essential, they say, is the global ecological crisis highlighted by the proliferation of jellyfish and to change the way fisheries are managed worldwide.