Dead Jellyfish Coat Will Rogers Beach

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

Canyon resident Sharon Killbride noticed an expanse of dead jellyfish along Will Rogers State Beach.

“Our beaches north of Lifeguard Headquarters are lined at the shoreline with this stuff that looks like plastic, but after I went down and checked it out, it looks like jellyfish,” Kilbride said.

A massive algae bloom is releasing toxins that are killing many marine animals in Santa Monica Bay, although its effect on the jellyfish is unknown. See report on bloom here.

According to Chad Billmyer, who covers many environmental issues for Canyon News, “historically speaking, blue ‘By-the-wind sailor’ jellyfish, otherwise known by their scientific name Velella velella, often wash up when wind patterns drive them into the beach. The timing might be coincidental with the algae bloom. It is more likely that wind is the cause of their arrival on the beach.”