At Delaware's Lewes Beach, Beach Patrol Captain Strohm Edwards has seen more jellyfish this year than any other and stings have tripled.
Along the Nantucket Sound shoreline, researchers believe massive groups of unusually large moon jellyfish — a species long thought to be harmless to people — have been stinging many swimmers in nearby Cape Cod towns.
And on Florida's Daytona Beach, nearly 350 people were stung by jellyfish over Memorial Day weekend, according to A.J. Miller, deputy chief of Volusia County Beach Safety.
"Absolutely places are seeing increases in jellies year after year, and this summer in particular," said Paul Bologna, director of the marine biology and coastal sciences program at Montclair State University.
As Americans flock to beaches to enjoy the last weeks of summer, jellyfish are causing pain for beachgoers from Maine to Florida. That's in part because warming waters and human activity have helped boost jellyfish populations.
