NAHANT — Summer means a lot of things to a lot of people, but to North Shore residents it guarantees the return of the lion’s mane jellyfish to local waters.
As recently as June 9 (a week ago Wednesday), the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) issued a public warning about the presence of said jellyfish at Nahant Beach. Also included in the warning were Wollaston Beach in Quincy and Carson Beach in South Boston. In an earlier directive, the DCR warning also included Nantasket Beach in Hull.
Additionally, the agency has posted purple flags at the beaches, which indicates the presence of “dangerous marine animals.”
According to the DCR, the lion’s mane jellyfish is common to Massachusetts waters, and they appear every year on North Shore beaches. Some years, said Olivia K. Dorrance of the DCR, they are more plentiful than others. For instance, the jellyfish were seen more frequently a year ago.
Despite what people may have seen or heard, the jellyfish are not deadly. They don’t even pose much of a threat to most people.
“Typically, the tentacles of the jellyfish are severed before they reach shore due to wave action,” Dorrance said, “and they are not generally more than a few feet long where swimmers typically venture into the water, close to beaches.
“Many individuals will not experience profound pain from the sting of this species,” she added.
If you see one, the DCR said, you should “move slowly up current and away from the animal to avoid tentacle exposure.”
However, if you are stung, Dorrance said, “flush the tentacles away from the affected area with clean seawater thoroughly and don’t rub the area until the tentacles are gone. Otherwise the stinging cells will continue to fire.”
The lion’s mane jellyfish is one of the largest known of the species. It is a cold-water fish, prevalent in the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the Arctic.
The fish uses its stinging tentacles to capture, pull in and eat prey.
If a lion’s mane jellyfish does happen to wash up on shore, “it is best to look and not touch,” the DCR said.
