That's good eatin'

[Iraira]

Japanese fishermen brace for giant jellyfish
(CNN) -- Giant jellyfish descend on the Sea of Japan, causing untold devastation to coastal villages and leaving a trail of destruction and human misery behind.

Sounds like a great sci-fi flick. But it's not.It's real and it's a nightmare for Japanese fishermen.

The massive sea creatures, called Nomura's jellyfish, can grow 6 feet in diameter and weigh more than 450 pounds. Scientists think they originate in the Yellow Sea and in Chinese waters. For the third year since 2005, ocean currents are transporting them into the Sea of Japan.

Monty Williams, a marine biologist at Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab, said the jellyfish grow to an enormous size as they are transported by ocean currents. He said they stay together in packs and as they drift northward, they get caught in fishermen's nets.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/19/japan.jellyfish/index.html

Maybe the whales are sending the jellyfish out to get revenge?

[james]

that's some awesome artwork there (not that i could do better). did you draw that?

[Ketou]

Hmm...starts off with

Giant jellyfish descend on the Sea of Japan, causing untold devastation to coastal villages and leaving a trail of destruction and human misery behind.

and ends with

It's not clear why waves of Nomura's jellyfish have made it to the Sea of Japan in recent years. Some have speculated that overfishing, pollution or rising ocean temperatures may have depleted the kinds of fish that prey on Nomura's jellyfish in the polyp stage. However, no one is certain, Williams said.

So it's them causing the devastation on us.......just like the whales are eating all the fish too.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/06/08/2592139.htm

[Iraira]

that's some awesome artwork there (not that i could do better). did you draw that?

Maybe we should redirect this to "You've been in Japan too long when....", as I can't tell if you're being sarcastic....that's really pathetic on my part. No, I found it on here on http://www.felching_constipated_baby_elephants.com

[Kanchou]

The Sea Lab is about 30 miles from here...

[james]

Maybe we should redirect this to "You've been in Japan too long when....", as I can't tell if you're being sarcastic....that's really pathetic on my part. No, I found it on here on http://www.felching_constipated_baby_elephants.com

was more curious with just a tint of sarcasm about it being "awesome artwork"..

i can empathize re the sarcasm detection.. for those of us who are married anyway, i think it comes with having to use it less for the sake of marital .. happiness is a strong word.. uhm.. civility.

my wife was once complaining about having too much laundry to do while trying to get dinner on and totally took it the wrong way when i made a very tongue-in-cheek / sarcastic remark about the quality of the "help" these days really not being what it used to be. (i'm quite the charmer!)

she's come to understand my sense of humour better but there has definitely been friction and misconstrued meanings in the past because of it.

[Taro Toporific]

Giant jellyfish descend on the Sea of Japan, causing untold devastation to coastal villages and leaving a trail of destruction and human misery behind...

..It's not clear why waves of Nomura's jellyfish have made it to the Sea of Japan in recent years. Some have speculated that overfishing, pollution or rising ocean temperatures may have depleted the kinds of fish that prey on Nomura's jellyfish in the polyp stage. However, no one is certain, Williams said.

JEDI alliance: Jellyfish overlords won't rule Earth after all
The Register | 2nd February 2012
The worldwide jellyfish-threat trouser state was officially downgraded ...Despite the (cough) well-publicised menace posed by such things as the fridge-sized, quarter-ton monster jellies which routinely choke the Sea of Japan... it seems that in fact there's not great need to panic. International boffins, allied under the banner Jellyfish Database Initiative (JEDI) have collated all available data on jelly populations worldwide. They say that in fact, regardless of the various wobbling menaces highlighted in the more irresponsible sections of the media, there's nothing to show an overall increase in jellyfish population.
"Clearly, there are areas where jellyfish have increased, the situation with the Giant Jellyfish in Japan is a classic example," says Dr Cathy Lucas of Blighty's National Oceanography Centre, one of the JEDI alliance. "But there are also areas where jellyfish have decreased, or fluctuate over the decadal periods."
More...

[matsuki]

Just like the Humbolt squid, I wonder why the local cuisine doesn't take advantage of these plentiful creatures...