Cleaning up Barnegat Bay has taken on a new meaning in recent years.
"If the tail of the stinging jellyfish goes across your face... you go numb... It's really irritating," said Carl Mattocks, President of the Berkeley Township Underwater Search and Rescue.
Divers with the Berkley Underwater Search and Rescue team are expanding their anti-sting operation to mitigate the invasion of the bay nettle, a type of jellyfish along the Jersey Shore.
"We'll use a specially adapted commercial pressure washer, which allows us to, underwater, scrub the bottom of the bulkheads and go underneath the floating docks," Mattocks said.
Doing that doesn't kill them, but instead disturbs the nest so that bigger fish consume the polyps once they float into the water.
The effort started in 2021 thanks to a $600,000 grant partially funded by the State Department of Environmental Protection.
"After the scrubbing, what we saw was a significant decline," said Dr. Paul Bologna, Director of Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences at Montclair State University.
He says waterfront development led to a rise in the jellyfish the last several years. He came up with the idea to scrub them away.
Experts say newer bulkheads and floating docks are now made out of PVC and the bay nettle love to nest on it
"When their numbers go up, fisheries decline sometimes. The other is lack of ability to enjoy the water," Dr. Bologna said.
The volunteer dive team is now free to clean up other waterways in the area.
"A couple of my grandkids have gotten stung... so, they can be a nuisance," one resident said.
The dive team says donating will help speed up the process.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* More New Jersey news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube