Recent reports of a stinging jellyfish in Waquoit Bay are not a surprise to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists, who have been following the reemergence of the species, Gonionemus vertens, in local waters.
Commonly called a clinging jelly or a clinger by some scientists, the jellyfish is an invasive species hailing from the North Pacific, but it has a long history in local waters, first seen in Eel Pond in Woods Hole in 1894.
“In the last decade it seems to be making a comeback,” said research specialist Annette Govindarajan at WHOI.
