David Lipson: Well, as many of us enjoy a Christmas break by the ocean, beach authorities are warning swimmers of blue bottle jellyfish stings. A large number of blue bottles have been spotted in the sea or washed up along the shores across the east coast of Australia. The organisms have been recorded right around the country. Not a lot is known about blue bottles, but a citizen science mapping trial is hoping to change that. Kimberley Price reports.
Kimberley Price : Dave Arthur, better known on Sydney’s eastern beaches as ‘Pack Man’, is an avid ocean swimmer. He loves it, but he’s aware of the dangers.
Dave Arthur : Most people, when I talk to them about swimming, they ask about sharks, but the thing that scares me the most is actually jellyfish and blue bottles specifically.
Kimberley Price : Dave Arthur saw his first blue bottle on Boxing Day and has already been stung by a blue bottle this summer. When he sees blue tentacles washed up on the beaches, he changes his plans.
Dave Arthur : It’s a torture when you see such beautiful water, beautiful days, and you just, you want to run towards the water and then you see these little blue things in there and you think, right, that’s it, I’m tapping out.
Kimberley Price : He’s a veteran of many stings.
Dave Arthur : I’ve ranged from just a few little kind of annoying stings to even being comfortable with one sitting on my back for an entire two kilometre race in Bondi to one where I’ve actually hit it with my index finger and I had to take the day off work because my underarms, my chest swelled up. It was quite a reaction.
Kimberley Price : Blue bottles are most commonly found along the east coast of the country and presently the Victorian coastline is seeing large populations of the stingers. Dr Jaz Lawes is a research manager at Surf Lifesaving Australia.
Jaz Lawes : Fortunately in Australia, no one has died from blue bottles. However, we do have some, we have seen some pretty intense systemic reactions or allergies even, which have required people to go to hospital and be treated.
Kimberley Price : Dr Lawes says it can be hard to predict where blue bottles will turn up, but with the help of people logging their sightings on the citizen science webpage iNaturalist, Jaz Lawes is developing a tool to more accurately model blue bottle activity.
Jaz Lawes : They’re actually the second highest coastal hazard from some of the research that we’ve done. Surf Lifesavers and lifeguards actually treat about tens of thousands of stings each year just trying to keep our beachgoers safe.
Kimberley Price : So what can help ease the pain if you get stung? Jaz Lawes says there’s a lot of myths out there and one not to listen to is to rub urine on your sting.
Jaz Lawes : Absolutely not the right thing to do. And if you can see those blue tentacles or those blue spots stuck on there, try and pull them off and rinse the area well with seawater. And if you can, if you’ve got it near you, place the stung area under hot water, as hot as you can comfortably tolerate for 20 minutes. If it’s really serious or if you’re not feeling well, send for medical help.
David Lipson: That’s Dr Jaz Lawes from Surf Lifesaving Australia, ending that report by Kimberley Price.
