Jellyfish in good number have been washed ashore dead along the coast near Machilipatnam, arguably due to changes in the weather conditions in the sea water after severe cyclonic storm Hudhud.
The jellyfish, of which at least half-a-dozen were found dead, were sighted on Sunday on the Manginapudi beach. Visitors were thrilled to have a glimpse of the jellyfish, which weighed less than half-a-kg each, as it is rare to witness them off-shore.
“A section of people have started buying the jellyfish from the fishermen in and around Nagayalanka in recent times. However, the buyers from different parts of the country maintain secrecy about the use of the fish,” Nagayalanka-based brackish water fish merchants told The Hindu . It was also suspected that the jellyfish are trapped in the fishermen nets in huge quantity along the Machilipatnam coast. Dead jellyfish, which attract no commercial value in the local market, could be sighted at the boat parking location on the Manginapudi beach.
The fish is in beach sand colour and consists of gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell. It is a rare sight to observe dead jellyfish, which is believed to mostly spend its life in the sea water. Varying from each species of jellyfish, the maximum lifespan of the fish is six months. In winter 2012, senior Indian Police Officer Rajiv Trivedi and his team of swimmers spotted many jellyfish during their 25-km swim between Bheemili and R.K. beach in Visakhapatnam district.
