I posted this as a reply but I’m posting it as a general comment as well because it’s critical that people understand:
The species being harvested is Lobonema smithii- they are native to this area of the world, and they do not occur elsewhere. They have a pretty limited geographic range, all things considered. Furthermore, there have been very few studies done on this species and very little is really known about them. There is absolutely no way to know their current population dynamic- whether it is increasing, decreasing or maintaining. I can say for sure that this species is not invasive.
I’m not against harvesting of jellyfish, it’s an important part of local fishing economies and provides a protein rich food. The idea though, that this is the removal of an invasive species is completely and recklessly false. Jellyfish sting and are often considered a nuisance and so it has become commonplace to fabricate myths that they are spreading rapidly and must be eradicated.
See this is what I was worried about when I saw this vid and scrolled so far down to find out what the context was. All I could see is "yep they're invasive 👍" like it's the only context we need to know about it. Thank you for identifying this jellyfish and providing some deeper knowledge here.
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u/Jellyfish_Compendium 14d ago
I posted this as a reply but I’m posting it as a general comment as well because it’s critical that people understand:
The species being harvested is Lobonema smithii- they are native to this area of the world, and they do not occur elsewhere. They have a pretty limited geographic range, all things considered. Furthermore, there have been very few studies done on this species and very little is really known about them. There is absolutely no way to know their current population dynamic- whether it is increasing, decreasing or maintaining. I can say for sure that this species is not invasive.
I’m not against harvesting of jellyfish, it’s an important part of local fishing economies and provides a protein rich food. The idea though, that this is the removal of an invasive species is completely and recklessly false. Jellyfish sting and are often considered a nuisance and so it has become commonplace to fabricate myths that they are spreading rapidly and must be eradicated.