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Dozens of Nomura’s jellyfish sunk a 10-ton Japanese fishing boat, sending all three crewmembers into the sea, The Mainichi Daily News reported.

Apparently the Nomura’s jellyfish, which can weigh up to 440lbs and grow up to 6ft in diameter, are vacationing in the waters around Japan this year in numbers greater than usual.

From SKY News:

Experts believe weather and water conditions in the breeding grounds off the coast of China have been ideal for the species in recent months.

“The arrival is inevitable,” Hiroshima University Professor Shinichi Ue told the Yomiuri newspaper.

“A huge jellyfish typhoon will hit the country.”

Nomura’s jellyfish have been known to wreak havoc in Japanese waters.

They destroy fishing nets, poison fish in the nets and render them unfit for sale, sting humans and even disable nuclear power stations by blocking pumps used to cool the reactors.

In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage caused to fishing equipment by jellyfish in the region, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The trawler capsized after the crew attempted to pull in a net tangled with a large number of the giant jellyfish. The three crew members (who are between the ages of 57 – 69) survived the incident by being plucked out of the sea by a fellow vessel.

[Via: SKY News], [Image via: pink tentacle]