Country diary: moon jellyfish in the swim

Shieldaig, Wester Ross, Highlands: Thousands lie dead in the sea, each one a clear, gelatinous disc inset with four perfect, violet rings in tight formation Picking my way barefoot around the rocky headland, I notice the sea below is thick and soupy with a strange debris. Soft pastilles drift in the surf, swirling - slow, chaotic, ­kaleidoscopic ­- with each thrust of the waves. Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). Hundreds of them. Thousands, maybe, each one a clear, gelatinous disc inset with four perfect, violet rings in tight formation like the face of a dice. They are dead. Continue reading...