Delaware beach patrols report hundreds of jellyfish stings each day

Warming and drought conditions cited as drivers of jellyfish surge

Delaware officials have warned beachgoers to watch for lion’s mane, Atlantic sea nettle, moon jellyfish and sea walnut. They advise rinsing an affected area with vinegar and then treating it with hot water or a warm towel.

Officials also caution against urinating on a jellyfish sting, saying the practice can worsen the pain. Anyone stung on the face or neck should seek immediate medical attention.

Rehoboth Beach patrols have recorded between 150 and 200 stings a day since the end of July, according to Nico Caceres, the beach patrol captain. At Lewes Beach, lifeguard Braden Jones said the beach had averaged about 100 stings a day.

Jones said stings reached their highest level in the afternoon. He had seen beachgoers spend less time in the water and “staying away from the jellyfish.” Jones, who has also been stung, described the sensation as a “stinging pain” followed by itching.

At Rehoboth Beach, Caceres said the jellyfish had been “very plentiful” for the previous couple of weeks. He said this summer’s stings differed from those the patrol had typically seen in past summers.

Caceres said he had been stung “plenty of times.” In past seasons, he said, the effects usually lasted 30 to 45 minutes. This summer, he said, pain and other symptoms have lasted an entire day.

“We have been seeing a lot of smaller children who actually end up vomiting a lot,” Caceres said. He said lifeguards on his team who had been stung also avoided entering the water because they were concerned about being stung again.

Kristen Zerby, a Delaware resident, stayed out of the water at Lewes Beach and called the situation “disappointing.” “My boys and my husband are down at the waterline just to feel the water, but it’s disappointing that you can’t go in,” she said.

Zerby said she had visited Delaware beaches every year of her life and had never seen it so empty. “I’m not taking that chance,” she said.

Jellyfish have been spotted in the water and washed ashore at South Bethany Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach and Lewes Beach, according to The Guardian.

Chris Petrone, the marine advisory service director at Delaware Sea Grant, said warmer air and water temperatures, drought conditions that increase salinity, seasonal winds and water circulation patterns had contributed to the presence of multiple jellyfish species in Delaware waters.

Petrone said those conditions could become more common as temperatures rise and droughts occur more frequently. “The best available data show that our air temperatures, and thus water temperatures, are rising over time and droughts may become more frequent. So those conditions will favor higher numbers of summertime sea jellies,” he said.

Petrone said a quieter hurricane season thus far can contribute to jellyfish accumulating along the coast. He said such systems can break up jellyfish populations, move them offshore or onto land, and bring up cooler bottom waters that are less favorable to summertime jellyfish.

Caceres said, “People think we close the water because no one’s going in, but it’s just because people don’t want to get stung. It’s pretty much a guarantee you’ll get stung if you go.”

A separate marine hazard has affected beaches in Southern California, where a persistent marine heatwave has brought unusually large numbers of stingrays closer to shore. The local fire department in Huntington Beach reported at least 240 stingray incidents last month.