Jellyfish Invading Japan

it's a giant among jellyfish they can grow to more than two meters wide weighing almost a quarter of a ton drifting through the oceans since before the dinosaurs without blood bones or a brain billions are now heading into Japanese waters they're giant bodies may float gracefully through the oceans but these jellyfish devastate ecosystems and local fishing industries no one knows why Nomura blooms are increasing Hafiz you Adam Yukimura what underlining is global warming or industrial pollution to blame swarms that happened every four decades now strike nearly every year a battle is on to stop jellyfish from taking over the oceans very difficult to stop this jellyfish they can survive forever [Music] the Nomura jellyfish horror surfaced swiftly and without warning one day the experienced crew of a 10-ton trawler set out as usual to fish the Pacific Ocean its crew of three dropped the net all seemed normal after several hours they pulled in the net but the day's catch felt strangely heavy the crew sensed that something was wrong their net was full of poisonous giant Nomura jellyfish the net opened spilling a slimy mass onto the boat tons of jellyfish hit the deck the boat pitched violently throwing the crew overboard the trawler capsized giant jellyfish Bloom's used to occur only once every 40 years but in 2002 something changed millions of giant Nomura jellyfish began to wash up on Japan's shores and in fishing nets but why would a plague that happened only once every 40 years suddenly start appearing annually this didn't just happen in Japan in the summer of 2006 more than 30,000 people were stung by a swarm of Mediterranean jellyfish in Ireland in 2007 an enormous bloom of most Stinger jellyfish covering tens of square kilometers wiped out a hundred thousand salmon in New York in 2008 dozens of athletes competing in a triathlon were stung by hordes of jellyfish in the Hudson River the past several decades have seen worldwide jellyfish populations explode globally sparking an alarming increase in attacks how can it be stopped jellyfish are some of the most unique creatures in the animal kingdom thousands of jellyfish species roam the oceans with no central nervous system no spine and no brain it's remarkable they're able to exist at all more than 500 million years old they're incredible survivors from a bygone age but nearly 100 years ago man discovered one of the largest of them all the Nomura they live for less than a year but in this time grow to a huge size thanks to a voracious appetite eight arms containing hundreds of minut mouths Gorge non-stop on microorganisms called zooplankton the Nomura can only control up and down movement the rest is down to the ocean currents they follow zooplankton close to the ocean's surface during the day and at night when the Sur plankton descend the jellyfish move with them moving up to ten kilometers a day these jellyfish are on a current that will take them on a winding 1,200 kilometers Ernie to the Japanese coast and this is where their journey began near the mouth of the Yangtze River where conditions are perfect for these mini monsters to breed low salt levels and a high population of zooplankton provide an ideal nursery for baby jellyfish a single giant Nomura jellyfish has over a billion eggs [Music] my newt fertilized larvae attach themselves to the sea floor the larvae then mature into a polyp growing small feeding tentacles to catch passing plankton what happens next is incredible the polyps move in a walking motion leaving a trail of tissue in their path this tissue develops into more polyps and multiplies the population explodes into trillions they lie on the ocean floor dormant for decades waiting waiting until the precise change in see conditions triggers a reaction source alike segments break off to form tiny jellyfish billions of nomura gather in blooms mass blooms have only been recorded nine times and the most recent could be the biggest ever it moved towards Japan almost a month earlier than usual the adult Nomura invasion first hit okie island deep sea currents created a funnel pushing billions of jellyfish past the island it was one of Japan's first lines of defense [Music] waiting for the jellyfish invasion was renowned nomura expert professor cine chewy [Music] this year we have an enormous balloon of this charity and we'd like to prevent this blooming by examining this kind of reproductive biology he captured male and female jellyfish to collect sperm and eggs from their gonads the aim to artificially reproduce a Nomura in the lab it's not they may be slow but their massive weight makes them hard to catch we have to wear the gloves like this it's thing testing the women Go Fish [Applause] unlike some venomous jellyfish the Nomura is not lethal but its sting can leave a nasty scar by artificially breeding these monsters it's hoped an effective birth control can be found to quash a bloom before it begins males and females are deceptively similar only a slight difference in the color of their gonads or sex organs can distinguish gender remissness reproductive potential of this jellyfish is just enormous they carries a nearly a million lives male jellyfish released trillions of sperm which swim into a female stomach cavity to fertilize the eggs but why are these jellyfish multiplying and marauding the ocean like never before on [Music] a mission to combat seemingly endless invasions of giant Nomura jellyfish Japanese expert professor cine chewy has bred his own just a month old five baby Nomura's were wolfing down litres of microscopic sir plankton this jellyfish become billion last but their food is very tiny unlike other jellyfish that actively hunt their prey the Nomura uses other techniques as they swim Tiny's er plankton brush against their tentacles causing minut venomous Barb's to strike out and stun their prey the Nomura's hundreds of tiny mouths then vacuum up everything in their midst this fishes have the very small mouth that diameter is just one millimetre so the only the small zooplankton can go in a single 100 kilogram jellyfish can filter an Olympic swimming pool full of zooplankton in a single day this evolutionary adaptation has given them a unique advantage the availability of the Duplin is just everywhere they use that strategy rather than attacking a large prey in just six months this tiny jellyfish would gorge its way to becoming a massive adult growing by a staggering 10% each day these voracious jellyfish are also consuming the livelihoods and generations-old businesses in Japan's oldest fishing communities this fishing village has been on the front line of the Nomura jellyfish invasions Toshio essa Bay has been fishing for 40 years and things have never been this bad each season he visits a Shinto Buddhist temple before venturing out to sea hi Dan Naruto circus owner Akuma neurons in this way sorry oh man oh hi any view newsroom marina younger wacky this way makutano navigation applying a comunistas varnish must eat or an orange tea miss you typhoon season brings strong waves that push the jellyfish even faster towards Shore fishermen start earlier risking exposure to typhoons to catch fish before the swarms arrive if the jellyfish beat them to it the fisherman's livelihoods would be ruined now you stick to building here the omens were bad Japan's Fisheries Department warned that the incoming bloom could be the biggest yet the scale of the bloom prompted the government to deploy three research ships to the Sea of Japan their mission was to stay one step ahead of these massive sea creatures and to raise the alarm when they moved close to shore spotters on deck simply looked for large groups of jellyfish they're warnings were sent to fishing fleets across the country [Music] once a bloom was spotted and logged the ship deployed kill nets these huge Nets with metal cables shredded any jellyfish trapped inside but this may have done more harm than good [Music] as they broke apart the nomura released billions and billions of eggs and sperm to ensure the continued survival of the species the death spawn created billions of polyps lying dormant on japan's seabed just waiting for the right conditions to bloom again Japan could become a second breeding ground country for the Nomura escalating a regional problem into a global crisis in Japan fisherman's worst fears were confirmed by reports coming from sea the blooms had reached record numbers with strong currents pushing them closer and closer in less than two months they covered nearly a quarter of Japan's coastline they were heading for central Japan these waters have traditionally provided some of the finest seafood much of it sent to Japan's Imperial Court this fishing town has waged a long bitter battle with the Nomura the jellyfish was first discovered here in 1921 jellyfish invasions have brought broken Nets lost incomes and closed beaches but things got worse as swarms of jellyfish threatened far more than Fisheries in 1972 scientist Toru Yasuda was called in to address an emergency his memories are vivid you walk you know pink we don't know or get among at her son are already my stuff couldn't what that thing uh hi hey Oh was how he's my state you know you gonna be nothing the semester waves of jellyfish struck at the heart of Japan's industrial power plants thousands were sucked into underwater cooling systems designers had addressed many potential threats but not one with tentacles and a massive jelly-like Bell the King died I can't gonna feel at this huh today's O'Hara and then we'll get that to you who need nothing he punished me no but any one state on the charm numerous clogged up the cooling systems hydronic zambia congra hiding mistake firstly thank you no more emotional day token come at Inova equal to single the caribbean no shoot on sight you guerrilla beta sacré boo boo hanky oh you panic oh it's even Katonah drunkenness anything the only I'll guarantee you while power plants were shut down experts tried to work out whether it could happen again mr. Kwan could hang you up you're right you're on dueling ichido gray arrow order that you go to that giant Nomura blooms only appeared once every 40 years but since 2002 the pattern of blooms has changed radically blooms are bringing misery to Japanese fishermen every year as a known useless doctor it secures their Hajim reason for walking consent agha inhumane gandhi all that occurred argonauts a sexual assault is sistemas gloomy reports like these are becoming an annual event fishermen head out to check their nets with dread they can never be sure when a giant Nomura bloom will appear [Music] this is the all-too-familiar result a heaving catch of giant Nomura [Music] there would normally be tons of fish in nets like these the fish they do catch is stunned and poisoned those that survive will fetch only 30% of their true value the crew is helpless all they can do is spend hours trying to separate the jellyfish from the few viable fish [Music] the Nomura's ravenous appetite for zooplankton also starves fish and other marine creatures of a primary food source [Music] still object but she's I cook it in a more expert professor oh yeah visited the central fishing village to determine just how big the gloom really was [Music] ceramic happened yoga seniors over on Crimea nonetheless we are the Qaeda and inaudible sir Timothy came in Manitoba moon Monday show my array on the front line of the bloom the fishermen were perhaps the best source of information [Music] Mike atomization disentangle much easier this ruching hakushin Attila gaming some coaches on Anatomy [Music] at 3:00 a.m. one morning calm seas gave fishermen a brief chance to net a viable catch the scientist accompanied them hoping to see the extent of the Bloom firsthand as the nets were hauled in the scale of the devastating jellyfish bloom became clear Kanani toxin amine Caraga no cigarette and retreated ANOVA hajimeta on the Joker panna cotta Qaeda in Iraq fishermen believe the jellyfish are taking over the oceans Iranian are kappa mah didn't wear De Niro's Ozma we got your name some of the jellyfish were measured so sizes could be compared to previous years [Music] Boyka hora hora amiga amiga amiga crew a snack creo que no Cassano equivocally Rasta mano de su Kankakee no Idaho Katerina's quarry manager Cosenza rimas DNA Nick Roberto Jesus the expert had a theory as to why there were so many jellyfish also like for the stewardess named dragon o quote I still go there akiko guitar inoue-san or yoga car get out of this mountain start talking another night with this many competing for food they weren't able to grow as large but even small jellyfish can ruin a fisherman's livelihood it was one of the worst catches on record less than 10 kilos of fish join us within us is how can a water leak you are gonna not seen I'm not good what is that banjo no way hey Coco no you second I cannot do doctor judo service so Jia Gardocki denied pasar Agung to New Jersey so Molly Chewbacca sister on the roll a man will go to Ottawa moto knowing if the waves of jellyfish continued these fishermen would be forced out of business could science find a way to stem the giant jellyfish tide before it was too late japanese jellyfish expert professor EA has been on the front line in the fight to stop an invasion of giant Nomura jellyfish it is essential to know the life cycle of these species the fertilization is just the beginning then that we can just approach how to counter this phenomenon if he can artificially rear nomura polyps he may be able to find a way to limit future blooms the clip stage is a very important stage to regulate the population of this jellyfish so I think we have to control this climatic stage the first step is to artificially inseminate microscopic jellyfish eggs here I take the donut which is kept in the dark so I will remove the lid 2x to be exposed to the light light is a catalyst that triggers egg production like is just a trigger for this phoneme and in 60 to 90 minutes later the egg will just released this one jellyfish has produced millions of tiny eggs only visible under a microscope after the eggs are fertilized they turn into larvae known as plan you lie tiny hairs called cilia coat the Lavi enabling them to move in their natural environment they will then slowly sink to the ocean floor and start to develop into the most important stage the polyp the most difficult thing is just to reel newly attached poi which is so small growing these polyps in the lab takes a week feeding them each day with the special diet of zooplankton but something holds them back [Music] he increases the water temperature to simulate rising sea temperatures the polyps reproductive rate is higher at higher temperatures that means that temperature elevation is just accelerate their police reproductive rate it works and a baby jellyfish is born that's really amazing we realized that global warming is one of the factors to cause jellyfish [Music] could global warming be the cause of jellyfish populations exploding all over the world the answer as to why the Nomura has bred more than ever this year may be found in China in Shanghai China's largest city the population has exploded by 3 million in the last decade such rapid development is not without consequences it's here offshore that recent changes in the oceans conditions have become a focal point for Nomura research professor Chung Jaguar is part of a team investigating reasons for the population explosion it's all nervousness that song called a chingar finding poor Hollis was that yeah pass in the house only limits it's all what a callable audience either publishing that with in January 2009 Donovan the motel had to go heroin in the ether massive changes have altered the ecosystem along the Chinese coastline 2009 saw the hottest summer on record an almost 2 percent increase on last century's average these temperature changes combined with massive overfishing and pollution have led to lower oxygen levels creating what scientists call a dead zone few species can survive in these toxic zones but the sewage and runoff provides nutrients for zooplankton thereby increasing jellyfish food the waters of China's coast are just one example of a debt zone worldwide the number of dead zones is almost doubling every decade from Asia to Europe to the Americas there are now more than 400 of these dead zones across the globe jellyfish thrive in these dead zones leading to species now being found in places they've never been seen before if conditions don't change dead zones will increase globally and jelly fish blooms could grow both in numbers and in size but in China they've created their own local solution to the Nomura problem so you owe me a change in plans if I mean anything about her yeah chanseong go yeah so this is I mean ideal so we're sitting the Michael Holick I said it all so 10 meters or sangmi imagine this year jellyfish speciality shops are a staple of fish markets across China's lengthy coastline low in fat cholesterol and calories jellyfish have been eaten here for thousands of years some have welcomed the rise in jelly fish blooms [Music] she's gonna cool back home you're young yet my god oh yes you are today and that means these are that he's not from here nothing I'm here my tongue way and I see right so they don't use it could eating the Nomura help solve Japan's problems [Music] billions of Nomura jellyfish are now in Japanese waters [Music] in less than three months they've made it to the northern tip of Japan covering nearly half of the entire coastline [Music] fishermen Toshio sob and his crew were making one last attempt to land a viable catch the local government has sent a salesman caneo foo coder to try and help solve their problem he calls himself a jellyfish broker he's never seen anything like this amount of jellyfish that's why y'all all the other guys do do even though the Japanese a huge consumers of seafood this is one catch they just won't eat the salesman dubbed jellyfish foo coder hopes to change all that yeah do you like the way mother well go put on your cap buddy guy nonetheless again I got Nagato another Korean economy cuckoo he's taking Nomura jellyfish to try to create a set of recipes for the Japanese palate if these recipes become popular it could help embattled fishermen turn a menace into money we could I get a feel I study them all has a stick car that gets old you steer so do they are boys you matter if Foucault does plan doesn't work this could be one of the last catches of the season these fishermen will have no income for the rest of the year and it's not just here hundreds of thousands of fishermen all over Japan depend on fish it's a race against time in three days jellyfish vocoder will present a menu of jellyfish dishes at Tokyo's biggest fish buyers convention cucchiaio ah Cory wha you know what she said on the face you know could this whatever let's get going Oh today the annual seafood exhibition is a chance to turn a nation's pallets into accepting the Nomura as food that's pretty much their future speak thousands of buyers flock to the exhibition many willing to try Nomura for the first time the feedback is promising we'll see quieter much rubbish everything we use has you the week despite positive feedback the buyers aren't biting giant jellyfish aren't going to make it on to Japan's menus overnight [Music] but nature could provide another solution to the giant Nomura jellyfish crisis Shogo RI is a marine environmental researcher he believes that overfishing is one of the main reasons for giant jellyfish blooms and equilibrium needs to be brought back to the Seas his idea is to create artificial reefs to bring back important species lost from Japanese waters like the filefish critically these fish feed on the Nomura he's installed a series of 50 man-made reefs on the ocean floor these reefs attract filefish which helped combat the jellyfish [Music] the filefish has a small tapered snout with specialized incisor teeth making it the perfect mouth to feed on the jellyfish tentacles their thick rough skin prevents them from being stung to test his theory the environmental researcher Nets the biggest nomura he can find he will attach it to one of his reefs now all he has to do is wait for the fish to arrive they soon swarm around the giant Nomura nibbling away at its tentacles could conservation combat the Japanese jelly Jeopardy replenishing fish stocks and restoring equilibrium is vital to combat jellyfish blooms in Japan and all over the world but with numbers in the billions too many to even count this year is the worst ever nearly twice as many jellyfish than ever before [Music] it's been four months since they arrived in Japan and they've made it around to the Pacific Ocean covering nearly 80% of the Japanese coast the coming months will see them die out and give rise to next year's Giants these fisherman's nightmare has come true with their fishing season destroyed by the jellyfish they've pulled their boats ashore and quit at 65 Toshio so be might never work again [Music] Samuel Goldwyn or do you know Connie travesty return average human mutiny yo Socky Mark Rutte in the scary moo-sung a medicinal heart initiative nikomia hotend o9l character I go to NATO phenomenal hono akari Oakland arena coronary energy in Korea start over the cigar carvaka denies name decided to go Mamo nah reunion arm so you can lay any [Music] entrepreneur Kanaya vocoder is still trying to sell Nomura as the next big food fan non-canadian Craig a new home knows Tommy Tommy Tommy Rohini and local characteristics title - so ever the audio or canotary Karim Allah Karim a Sin Cara scientists fear the worst is yet to come the most employers Coronel crying ah my to see my to see young king Kenyatta chemist or the own King anga dine you know have say about an inept someone who you can all them are very much if the Nomura adapt to Japanese sea conditions Japan will no longer be their destination but their breeding ground if this happens the problem could become irreversible Japan could be a tipping point if they can adapt and bloom here then we're next jellyfish expert professor ah he has mastered the secrets of the Nomura's breeding cycle but he can't combat changing sea conditions that are responsible for these rising blooms [Music] this year is the worst ever the jellyfish is really primitive animal they have very flexible life cycle so that they can survive forever professor mu Yi believes this is a global problem and that unless we can slow down climate change jelly fish blooms will continue to grow and their oceanic range will expand I'm afraid that the ocean will be full of jellyfish if the environmental condition is insane we do not have the immediate answer but we human race smart enough to find a way to solve this problem science may be fighting a losing battle against an irrepressible giant jellyfish invasion [Music]

Channel: DadoTheGoodVillain2

Views: 4,686,282

Rating: 4.6768355 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 6HP0_7_RRwg

Length: 45min 2sec (2702 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 12 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/sternobum]

They have systematically raped the ocean for their status food. Now they pay

[u/Lycanthropod]

Spongebob and Patrick been slacking on their jellyfish hunting..

[u/bostwickenator]

There is a lot of hate for Japan here which is upsetting, can't we just learn about the issue without assigning blame?

[u/Cricketsins]

Karma for the dolphin murders

[u/klemon]

Soon there will be submarine UAV to chase after the jellyfish.

[u/beardedgreg]

They don't eat jellyfish?

[u/Niacain]

I wonder how much of this is jive, after all the show is called "Monester Jellyfish Attack" and produced by the same conglomerate that owns Fox news...

[u/muh_condishunz]

do we need em?