Toktok Talkie
by Joh Henschel
The Age of Jellyfish
“Who wants my jellyfish? I‘m not sellyfish!” Thus Ogden Nash explained the generous abundance of
jellyfish. Our Benguela, too, is gradually turning into a thick soup of jellyfish. The ocean is literally
glowing, rosy by day, fluorescent by night. To boot, these plentiful creatures are literally ancient, in
evolutionary terms and lifespan. Prepare for the Age of Jellyfish.
As every Namib toktokkie knows, jellyfish are among the oldest multi-organ creatures on earth, first
appearing some 700 million years ago and frequenting all nooks and crannies of the oceans. Young
jellyfish grow as stalk-like polyps which give rise to free-swimming cup-headed medusa. Hence the
class name Scyphozoa, “cup animals”. The phylum name, Cnidaria, is derived from their stinging
nettle cells.
The jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, beats mortality by rejuvenating its cells, and repeats its lifespan
time and again without dying – unless killed. Turritopsis also reproduce, and many generations
coexist, each immortal. Their populations can thus grow steadily.
Should we rejoice or be alarmed that the oceans are progressively jellifying? In the Benguela, we
seem to have gotten the recipe right to achieve this. We are making room for jellies by removing
their competitors. Time and again fishing quotas are set to such high levels that we make sure that
fish stocks are eventually systematically decimated, species by species, and we don’t (yet) touch the
jellies. Fish may be losing ground for good as larger proportions of plankton are being monopolised
by growing populations of jellies who feed, reproduce, and thrive for a long, long time. Although this
has been on-going for many years, it is only recently that everybody is beginning to notice: Whoa,
where did all those jellies come from? It turns out that we are their best allies.
Can we do anything to control jellies? Should our fisheries harvest jellies and reduce the pressure on
fish stocks? This is precisely what is already being done in East Asia, and it turns out that there are
many advantages. Not only have some jellies outmanoeuvred their own ageing process, they can also
help people stave off some ill effects of ageing in humans, too. A protein derived from the jellyfish,
Aequorea victoria, has been shown to prevent dementia by improving short-term memory and
cognitive abilities of ageing persons who consume the jellyfish substance. By slowing down
progressive loss of mind, jellyfish can help us cope better with age. People of any age can eat jellies,
which has first been dried, then rehydrated and spiced. Benefits include improved brain and eye
health, prevention of asthma and inflammation, reduced blood clotting, lower blood pressure and
reduced diabetes. The list of health benefits (and some risks) goes on.
Zophosis moralesi marvels that such a humble creature, without a proper brain, is so awesome in
terms of its great age and ability to improve the brainpower, health and longevity of people. Lest
jellyfish/ get too sellyfish,/ garnering plankton/ with hungry abandon,/ we can get clever,/ eat what
else lives forever.
EnviroMEND: [email protected]
Namib Times: Tuesday, 26th June 2012