Watch to see how beautiful jellyfish lake is.
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Video credit: Rumble
After being closed for two years for conservation purposes, Palau’s Ongeim’l Tketau Jellyfish Lake reopened for tourists. This was after marine officials noted thousands of new golden jellyfish have returned to the lake.
Palau’s Koror State government announced, “Ongoing monitoring conducted by the Coral Reef Research Foundation (CRRF) indicated that the jellyfish populations were now rebounding after the declines that were a result of the drought conditions experienced throughout Palau in 2016.”
The lake used to house 10 to 20 million non-stinging golden jellyfish and even reached 30 million in 2005. But a drought crisis in 2016 prompted the lake’s closure to tourists to allow the jellyfish to revive.
According to Gerda Ucharm, a research biologist in the CRRF, a survey conducted in December 2018 showed 630,000 jellyfish in the lake. While far below what the population was in its prime, the scientist is optimistic.
“Based on the number from December 2018, the population has not fully recovered yet; however, with this good windy and rainy weather, we should expect to see changes in the population and decrease in the water temperature,” Ucharm said. “If the weather conditions continue to be normal, then we are optimistic that the number should keep going up.”
Palau has had a history of being more environmentally-conscious which is why even before the government acted to close the lake, residents and tour operators voluntarily stopped taking on tourists for the area.
Chris Lubba, a representative of Palau Dive Adventures, a sustainable tour agency in Palau, explained, “The elders wanted the lake closed to allow it time to recover. Technically, the government never officially closed it.
“Many responsible tour companies stopped doing tours there and frankly there were so few jellyfish there it really made no sense to go there.”
The pictures were taken by 36-year-old diving instructor Lushan He.
She said: “It feels amazing to swim with so many jellyfish – it is something I’ve always wanted to do!
“I first saw a picture of the jellyfish lake in 2013 and knew from that moment I had to go there one day.
“I came to the lake a couple of years ago and it was empty, so to finally be able to swim with them was a fantastic experience – it was once in a life time to see this miracle.”
Unlike most other jellyfish, it’s safe to swim among these golden jellyfish.
She added: “While they do sting, you can’t actually feel it.
“There aren’t any predators for the jellyfish in this lake, so they don’t need their sting like they usually would, making it safe to swim alongside them.”