Crouching tiger, humungous jellyfish

How do you solve a problem like Nomura? The enormous Nomura's jellyfish (known in its native Japan as Echizen nurage) is causing concern among scientists who are monitoring unusually large blooms in the Yellow Sea and on the East China coast. The Nomura's jellyfish can grow to the size of a sumo wrestler, and for the first time they may reach the Pacific Japanese coast.

These beasts are blamed for rupturing fishing nets and destroying hauls of fish when they get caught in nets, but human meddling might be to blame for the surge in these jellies. Numerous theories have been suggested about the human impact on their population growth, from the overfishing of their natural predators to the warming of the oceans, which creates a balmy, jelly-friendly breeding environment.

This colossal cnidarian has a clever response to attack, which is sabotaging human attempts to cut down its population. The jelly ejects millions of tiny offspring into the water when under attack, and these little critters then stick to rocks and corals where the fittest will eventually detach and grow into full-size jellyfish. A survival strategy like the mythical Hydra makes a formidable foe indeed.

Experts are foreseeing a disastrous effect on the Japanese fishing industry and scientists at Hiroshima University are working flat out to control these unprecedented explosions in the jelly population. A net has been developed that would make it easier to release these giant jellyfish if they become caught up in a trawl, but some fisherman are worried about its efficacy. The problem remains unsolved for now, and the battle of man vs. Nomura's seems likely to become an epic struggle...