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BYRON BAY holidaymaker and ABC News Online reader Paul MacKenzie reckons the deadly Irukundji jellyfish is heading to southern waters “just like the canetoads did in the ’60s.”
Paul had just read the ABC article saying that marine experts have reinforced warnings that the jellyfish are moving south and could soon be on Queensland’s popular Sunshine Coast beaches, barely two hours north of Byron Bay.
The warning comes after four people were hospitalised on Wednesday and Thursday from Irukandji jellyfish stings on the western side of Fraser Island.
James Cook University Associate Professor Jamie Seymour says it shows how the Irukandji’s migration south needs to be taken more seriously.
“The length of the season has increased from one to two months to almost six months.
“We’ve seen a 1- to 2-degree temperature rise in the water off the coast in the southern side here and the animals have moved predictably with that,” he said.
He predicts beaches in south-east Queensland will suffer from closures as a result of increasing rates of stings in the coming years.