Box Jellyfish Swarm Found Off Western Australia Coast

By Alistair Bates

ABC Pilbara

Topic: Marine Biology

In short:

A swarm of venomous box jellyfish has been spotted off Western Australia's coast.

This find is different from the species found near the Northern Territory and Queensland.

What's next?

Scientists want to classify this variety, which is important for public safety and understanding.

Many box jellyfish have been seen off Western Australia's coast, which is exciting for scientists who want to name and classify a rare local type.

The box jellyfish name describes many species with cube-shaped bodies and long, venomous tentacles.

One type, the Australian box jelly, is native to northern waters and is one of the most poisonous creatures on Earth.

The WA box jellyfish is thought to be related to the world's most venomous sea creature.

A port worker saw almost 100 jellyfish gather near a jetty, which was a surprising sight.

It's not ideal, he said.

Ben Walkington filmed the swarm from a terminal.

He had never seen one in the harbour before.

He said he had seen box jellyfish before, but not in a long time.

'Probably new to science',

Marine biologist Lisa-ann Gershwin was very excited.

This one is probably new to science, she said.

Dr Gershwin is one of Australia's leading jellyfish experts.

The WA box jellyfish is likely different from those found in the Northern Territory and Queensland, which have caused many deaths.

The WA box jelly is probably not as dangerous, but it's still not safe.

Don't touch it, she warned.

Dr Gershwin recalled a similar swarm in WA over a decade ago.

Leading that expedition was CSIRO scientist John Keesing.

Box jellyfish can be found as far south as Exmouth, but large numbers are unusual.

Scientists want to know if this population will stay near Dampier.

Classification gap is a 'public health issue'.

Dr Keesing said it's hard to tell one jellyfish from another, and it requires many specimens and DNA samples.

There are fewer researchers who can do this work.

In Australia, there are fewer marine taxonomists.

The pool of experts who can describe new marine species is limited.

Learning more about WA's box jellyfish can help the public understand the risks.

But the effort is still worthwhile, Dr Keesing argued.

It's a public health issue when it comes to jellyfish.

If we don't describe new species, we don't fully understand our biodiversity.

More generally, this lack of capacity is a problem.

We need to understand our biodiversity.

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