Sting alert! Jellyfish drama isn’t over yet at the Jersey Shore

☑️ Jellyfish have not had an overwhelming presence at the Jersey Shore

☑️ A high number of Sea Nettles took care of the clinging jellyfish threat

☑️ A coastal storm could still bring more jellyfish to NJ

Heading into the last month of the summer, the Jersey Shore jellyfish don't look to be a major problem at the beach.

Clinging jellyfish with an extremely painful sting have come and gone because of a significant increase in the population of sea nettles, according to Paul Bologna, director of the Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences Program at Montclair State University.

He was skeptical of reports in June that some were the size of baseballs until he saw pictures of them in the back bays of Barnegat, Cape May and Shrewsbury.

"We usually finish them up early July. But this year they probably ended even earlier than that, because in the back bay areas the bay nettles have just been exploding. They're really bad this year, probably the worst that I've seen since maybe 2011," Bologna told New Jersey 1010.5. "They're baseball-sized in early June. Usually we don't see that till mid July."

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Jellyfish reports have helped make beachgoers aware

There have been reports of the rocalima, a jellyfish that resembles a mushroom cap, washing up in slightly higher numbers than usual. Bologna said their numbers are generally not tracked.

Portuguese man o'war, whose sting by their 30-foot tentacles can cause welts on exposed skin, have started washing up on Jersey Shore beaches in July, but so far, Bologna, says he hasn't heard of them being present in large numbers. But It wouldn't take much to change that.

"It takes one offshore storm to push all the stuff that's in the Gulf Stream our way. But for the most part, the Jersey beaches really have not seen huge amounts that would prohibit people from kind of going and enjoying the beach," Bologna said.

Overall, Bologna said that media attention to jellyfish at the Jersey Shore has helped beachgoers be aware of their impact.

"I think much of what I've done has gotten out into both the community as well as into the lifeguard community over the last 15 years. And so I think that Jersey's pretty prepared to deal with jellyfish issues more than some of our neighboring states," Bologna said.

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