Carcasses of blue button jellyfish dot Odisha coast

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Puri, May 15:

In a span of less than two weeks, lakhs of blue button jellyfish were today found dead along the Astaranga coast in Odisha’s Puri district.

The blue button jellyfish are found in tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The sight of dead hydroids along the Bay of Bengal in frequent intervals has raised concerns among the environmentalists and tourists alike.

Environmentalists are of the view that the aquatic species might be dying due to drastic climate change.

“Though the life span of the blue button jellyfish is less, the aquatic species might be coming to the shore in search of food. The blue buttons might be dying due to climate change or marine water pollution,” an environmentalist expressed.

The locals and tourists visiting the coast are bewildered to witness such large number of carcasses along the coast.

“This is a rare sight. I have never seen this type of incident before,” a tourist said.

The blue buttons (Porpita porpita) are actually not jellyfish. However, they superficially resemble the gelatinous aquatic animal. They feed on copepods and crustacean larvae and their sting causes mild irritation to human skin.

It may be recalled that dead blue button jellyfish were found along the Konark-Astaranga coasts few days ago. This is the second such incident in less than a fortnight.