Used to see so many of the buggers out around the 50-80 metre depths out wide from Hedland that the water would be brown with them. They would block the raw water pick up strainers on the main motor and gensets continually if we were fishing the area. It would only last for 3 weeks or so then they'd disappear.  From looking at the pic, they would have been at least 3-4 times thicker than that

Always around April/ May, not sure if it was water temperature that cause them to come together to spawn or the flat conditions.

Felt sorry [NOT] for the decky pulling hooks off in full wet weather gears in 35deg heat because of all the stingers hanging off the mainline and the same hours later when they would fly off the reel when re setting the line spraying on to them while they clipped the hook traces on.

I went to the Rowleys from Broome on the first of october 2006 and we did not notice any on the way out.When we came back a week later they were everywhere.

Thanks guys its good to get dates, years and rough locations. Its interesting that the observations always seem to be either in April or later around Sept/Oct.

Crano were they all the way back from Rowleys to Broome or did they start closer to the coast?

Carnarvonite, would you say the ones off Port Hedland were a regular annual event or some years worse than others? Hope you got a photo of your poor decky covered in red jellyfish slime!

Anyone recall seeing them in 2000 further south?

John

Have seen them just north of Geographe shoals in to about 20 metres and east of Bedout island, again in 50 metres.

Over all would have seen them 5=6 times over about 7 years, but we travelled frequently between long 114 at Exmouth  and long 120 east of Port Hedland, if we came across them we would steam away until we hit clean water because where the jellyfish were there would usually be next to no shark

Don't recall seeing them east of Dampier or down Exmouth way

I remember seeing them every year in Exmouth from 2007 onwards.  I know they used to come during whale shark season because I remember on several occasions saying, imagine having to pay to dive with so many of those fugging things around you.

Dont remember any news reports about them, but might be able to get some more info from my missus who was working as a wildlife officer at the time.

I was in Coral Bay in 2000 and they were definately there in thick numbers. Washed up on the beach and floating around within 20m of the shore.

The authorities up there were saying it could of been a recent storm front that might have blown them down that far but noone was really sure. It was the school holidays that around around April/May.

Thanks Adam and GenesisCraft , this is good to know and confirms other info I have about Ningaloo in 2000 and 2007. Anyone else seen blooms of red jellyfish?

Thanks

John

 Just about every year that I can remember the beach at Hedland looked like the second photo at some time.We use to have jelly fish fights on the beach all the time.This was early 70s to 83.I have seen them up on eighty mile beach as well.We use to go fishing up there quite regularly.

Long time ago but from memory we started noticing them around 2 0r 3 miles out.

Last year I was in Coral Bay pretty much all of April and when we got there there was a fair few of them around but they pretty much dissapeared over the next week.

Watched a show a year or so back about jellyfish in Japan. Their harbours are literally choked with the things. The cosensus was that there is such a huge inbalance in their fisherie (overfishing) that the jelly population exploded.