Could someone please advise when box jelly fish generally make their appearance in Cairns? Apparently, they aren't around all year.

not 100% sure on that. but certainly the warmer months. do a search on the web I'm sure you will find the info.

Mandy - you will find quite a bit of information if you type in "jelly fish" in Search this Forum and then select Australia.

Jellyfish season runs from November to June. They occur close to shore and are generally not seen as far out as the Barrier Reef. The July issue of National Geographic has a short but interesting article on the box jellies - worth a look.

Mandy,

RalphR is partly correct. May I refer you to the June 2005 Smithsonian article entitled "Killers in Paradise". This article points out that the Irukandji jelly fish are out at the reef and can be killers - they have killed in the past! This past January we were snorkeling after being assured that the jellyfish were not out this far when one of our group was stung. The Irukandji are transparent and the size of your thumb - very hard to see. Later we discovered that protective wetsuits were available for rent in Cairns - but our tour guide never said a word. If she had the snorkel trips would have been deserted!

Plan your trip carefully!

Ed

uits

Whoops, just to say the "stinger" nets in place on North Qld beaches are designed to keep out the box jelly fish, not the much smaller irukandji. Life saver patrolled beaches are checked daily in stinger season and will be closed for swimming if either box or irukandji are detected. Irukandji-like jelly fish are found in many South Pacific and SE Asian areas, they're not exclusive to north Queensland. Whilst they are nowhere near as lethal as the box jelly fish, they have been responsible for 2 tourist deaths in the last few years, one at Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays and one at Low Isles off Port Douglas. Both victims had pre-exisiting heart conditions.

Pat is correct in that Box Jelly fish, which includes the Irukanji, are prevalent throughout the tropics including Hawaii.

Here is a link to the comprehensive Smithsonian mag article that talks about the general problem and the two deaths that Pat refers to.
The article points out that the immediate symptoms cause stroke like symptoms which can lead to drowning. Thus they do not really know how many people have died from Irukanji stings or just drowning,

Link
:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smiths.../jellyfish.pdf