Do the Jellyfish Disappear after Tisha B’Av?

At the start of each summer season, the seas off the coast of Israel are inundated with jellyfish. July usually marks the start of the annual invasion of jellyfish which can stretch for a hundred kilometres or more off the Israeli coast, stinging bathers and frightening tourists and locals away from the beaches.

The jellyfish are believed to have arrived in the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal in the mid 1970s, and since the 1980s have been “flotillas” (excuse the pun) off the coast of Israel each summer. Their lifespan is about three months, and they spend their entire lifespan around the Mediterranean Sea around this time of year.

Despite the significant scientific studies that have been done on these jellyfish, most Israelis hold the belief that the jellyfish magically disappear from the Israeli coastal waters after Tisha B’Av. This belief does not take into account the possibility of Tisha B’Av falling earlier in the calendar (as it did this year). If science is correct, the jellyfish should still be around long after we have fasted for Tisha B’Av.

Here is the somewhat strange part of the story. With Tisha B’Av falling earlier this year, there were reports of jellyfish being sighted off the coast much earlier than usual. The first reports were already being received in the first week of June, about two weeks earlier than last year. Could this have happened to tie in with the early occurrence of Tisha B’Av this year?

I have not yet been to the beach, but I plan to head out there soon and I will be able to confirm whether or not the coast is clear now that Tisha B’Av has passed.