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Chesapeake Sea Nettles--where are they now?

5K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  T37Chef 
#1 ·
I sail mostly below the bay bridge and in the summer there can be a lot of sea nettles (stinging jellyfish). I've always been told that nettles are less common or rarely found north of the bridge because the lower salinity of the water.

Yet, when I looked at NOAA's recent "Nettle Forecast" it shows predicts that conditions are best for nettles up the Chester River and north of the bridge, especially north of Baltimore?

Forecasting Sea Nettles - Remote Sensing for Coastal Management - chesapeakebay.noaa.gov

Is that accurate or is NOAA's forecast (which really just looks at conditions favorable for nettles) flawed? I'm headed out this weekend and would love to find some nettle free water.
 
#2 ·
I sail mostly below the bay bridge and in the summer there can be a lot of sea nettles (stinging jellyfish). I've always been told that nettles are less common or rarely found north of the bridge because the lower salinity of the water.

...
That salinity line moves up or down the Bay depending on certain conditions.

I have yet to see any nettles this year at Gratitude. Last year and previous years I saw a lot by mid-summer.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Donna, that's exactly what I was hoping for...some real life observations.

What surprised me about NOAA's "forecast" is it indicates very low probability of nettles south of the bridge and high probabilities well north of the bridge. So, that leaves me wondering about the value of the "forecast." (It does show the area around Gratitude on light blue...low probability. So, they got that right.) Or whether I misunderstand conventional wisdom on nettles. (Always a distinct possibility.) :D
 
#8 ·
Definitely in Herring Bay right now. I was anchored in Dun Cove, off the Choptank, last weekend (Aug 24) and saw quite a few small ones there.
 
#13 ·
Hmmm....definitely looking like NOAA's nettle forecast model could use some refinement.

Quite a bit of conflicting information on how to treat stings. Some research that looks somewhat authoritative is dismissive of treatment such as urine and just advises going with something with lidocaine in it. I don't know. I prefer not to be the subject testing out various remedies.
 
#14 ·
i would agree, the nettle model is drastically different than what we've encountered in the last two weeks.

model shows high probability on the sassafras, and we didn't see one.

model shows 25% probability on the miles, and we couldn't see the water through them.
 
#18 ·
Just a few, quite sparse, on the Rhode River last weekend. And a few, but still sparser than I think of as normal for this time of year, around Annapolis
 
#22 ·
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