INFLUX OF JELLYFISH THREATENS FISH STOCKS IN ABSHERON PENINSULA
While some species may quickly die off, others thrive in their new surroundings, often to the point of posing a threat to the existing ecological order. Such is the case with Mnemiopsis, a fist-sized jellyfish that has spent the past decade menacing the waters of the Caspian Sea. The invasion of Mnemiopsis has caused the Caspian’s fish stocks to plunge, affecting the livelihoods of many local fishermen.
Zari Rustamov is from the village of Nardaran on Azerbaijan’s Abseron Peninsula. He said his catches of sprats have grown more and more meager in the years since the comb jelly first made an appearance. He said the jellyfish "is small like water. We didn’t have this thing before. Sometimes you look at the water, you reach out and your hands are full of them. And when it’s there, there are no fish. Fish avoid getting close to them."
The watery invader has a voracious appetite, devouring much of the Caspian plankton that provides the sprats’ main sustenance. Furthermore, Mnemiopsis reproduces at an alarming rate. It can double its size in a single day, reach maturity within two weeks, and then lay as many as 1,200 eggs a day for as long as several months.
The dropping fish stocks have forced many fishermen off the job. Many owners of fishing vessels in Absheron peninsula have been forced to sell their boats in order to pay off their debts. The spread of the Mnemiopsis is expected to eventually taper off. But that may come too late to save the Caspian’s fish stocks.
Mnemiopsis made its Eastern debut two decades ago, in the Black Sea, after being transported from the U.S. Atlantic coast in the hull of a ship carrying ballast water to maintain its stability. When the ship emptied its ballast water, the jellyfish began its feast on Black Sea plankton, causing a more than 80 percent decrease in fish stocks there.
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