A misty morning in the mooring area
Unlike me, many beach-goers in San Diego are undeterred by these signs. On hot days, the signs are often used by swimmers as towel racks, which are conveniently located close to the water's edge and help to keep the sand out of the towel. Frequently, we have seen group baptisms performed even during these periods of high pollution. The baptisms are big events, with close to 50 people gathered on the beach, clapping hands and singing riotously, as another group of people, clad in white, enter the water and get dunked. I suspect that today was another day for baptisms, but now there are other perils in the water that are much more difficult to ignore than potentially disease-causing micro-organisms.
For the last few days, San Diego Bay has been teeming with jellyfish. These are not the harmless 1 to 3 inch diameter clear jellyfish that swarm in the cool waters near Friday Harbor in late summer. No. The black jellyfish (Chrysaora achlyos) in San Diego right now are easily 1 to 3 feet in diameter and would seriously hurt you if you touched them. They are apparently nearing the end of their adult lives, having released eggs and sperm into the water, and their hazardous remains are being carried to local seashores. Even on our little tiny stretch of beach where we lock our rowboats in the mornings, I have seen at least four large jellies stranded every day.
On this morning, as I was rowing to shore, I noticed a small group of people on the beach - two men and three teenagers - wielding wide shovels fit for moving snow. The man who seemed to be in charge was demonstrating the proper use of his shovel and picking up what looked like a large pile of sand right next to one of the cardboard signs. My geeky scientist mind thought, "Hmm. Are they taking samples of the sand now to test for the micro-organisms? Or, maybe they are looking at the ecosystem-level effects of high levels of bacteria on the animals living in the sand..." The man with the shovel was wearing the accepted garb of a marine biologist, which consists of shorts in some shade of neutral earth tone, flip-flops, and whatever t-shirt happens to be on top of the pile in the chest of drawers. Today's t-shirt was a vibrant royal blue tie-dye. Okay... yes. Based on his outfit, he could have been a surfer, a kayaker, or any other beach-going San Diegan. I understand that I have a biased view of the world, but I really wasn't expecting what I saw him do next...
He started walking. He walked from one end of the beach to the other, all the while keeping the pile of sand balanced on the blade of his shovel. As he approached me, I saw that it was not just a pile of sand on his shovel, but it was a giant black jellyfish! What was he doing with it? Was he going to set it in someone's dinghy as a practical joke? Maybe he was coming to talk to me about it... He walked up to me, and said in a serious voice, "Let me know if you see any peanut butter fish!" I admit, I laughed. He looked like he was getting ready to smear some grape jelly on the world's largest PB&J sandwich. If only he could find a peanut butter fish!
But I stopped chuckling as I started to understand his intention. He walked all the way to the other end of the beach and tossed the giant jelly back into the water right on top of the rocks! The other man in the group was following suit. Seriously? That's your plan to clear the beach of jellyfish when there's ten more floating just feet away from the beach? By throwing these jellyfish on the rocks, I'm sure that the bodies are now fragmented, which poses an even bigger danger because fragments are not as easily detected. How about you read the signs, both literally and figuratively, and decide not to let your children / followers enter the water today?
As I got to my car, I saw the rest of the group setting up the area for the day's event. They had tables, food, a guitar, and a makeshift podium. The parking spots were quickly filling up as more of the group arrived. I'm not sure how their day went, but I saw wet hair and some pretty sour expressions when I arrived back in the park later this afternoon. I hope they were just tired.
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