According to Dr. Dror Angel, a marine ecologist from the Department of Marine Civilizations at the University of Haifa, jellyfish also routinely arrive in the winter, but not in such quantities.
"As long as human activity continues and includes construction and development on beaches, uncontrolled fishing, sea pollution and more, the marine system becomes more and more unbalanced," said Dr. Angel.
A large swarm of migrating filamentous jellyfish, mostly large (40-70 cm) has been seen in recent days off the beaches of Achziv and Nahariya in the north of the country. The swarm, which is unusual in size for this stage of the season, arrived, apparently from the north as a result of a northern current that brought the jellyfish to our shores, he said Dr. Dror Angel is an expert in marine ecology from the Department of Marine Civilizations at the University of Haifa.
In recent days, more and more reports have arrived on the "Meduzot" website about jellyfish observed in the northern area of the Israeli Mediterranean coast. The jellyfish, some of which are larger than the average size, regularly reach the shores of the country even during the winter period, but the amount observed in recent days on the beaches of Achziv is rare. According to Dr. Angel, one of the reasons for this may be the storm that hit northern Israel last week.
According to Dr. Angel, the arrival of the great swarm is rare, although it is not sure that it is surprising, especially while looking to the future. , the marine system is becoming more and more unbalanced and actually quite fragile", therefore, he adds, it is not surprising that there are so many phenomena that go beyond the routine, including the frequent appearance of jellyfish species that have the ability to have a decisive effect on the marine food web.
