Tiny strands of pulsating jelly...

[Hop]

in the gulf. Someone enlighten me please! No larger than a sweet pea blobs of clear jelly(sometimes in long strands) with some kind of tiny brown egg or larvae inside. In the water it just looks like a line of black dots...out of the water...it throbs. I couldn't find anything on the internet and it's driving me crazy!

 

[NoHall]

in the gulf. Someone enlighten me please! No larger than a sweet pea blobs of clear jelly(sometimes in long strands) with some kind of tiny brown egg or larvae inside. In the water it just looks like a line of black dots...out of the water...it throbs. I couldn't find anything on the internet and it's driving me crazy!

Ewwwww. Sounds icky!

 

[Matt J]

Give these folks a call.

Coastal & Marine Laboratory

Make sure to mention you're a teacher. They used to come to schools and do presentations too. ;-)

 

[NotDeadYet]

I emailed a biologist I know at Fish & Wildlife about these. Fish eggs, was the response.
I managed to get two of them into the palm of my hand - they are fish-shaped, and the "egg" is about where the eye ought to be.
I've seen these every June here for years, and I always thought they were probably fish eggs, but I never inquired before. I don't recall seeing them in as large amounts as this year. They gave me the willies bumping up against me yesterday when I was swimming.

 

[Beauty hunter]

Hey not dead yet, just jumped into the thread to look at that hilarious avatar- thanx for posting it

 

[Hop]

I emailed a biologist I know at Fish & Wildlife about these. Fish eggs, was the response.
I managed to get two of them into the palm of my hand - they are fish-shaped, and the "egg" is about where the eye ought to be.
I've seen these every June here for years, and I always thought they were probably fish eggs, but I never inquired before. I don't recall seeing them in as large amounts as this year. They gave me the willies bumping up against me yesterday when I was swimming.

i was hoping it was fish and not jelly...thanks!

 

[micki]

Yes, we have been seeing these every day, too. And, interestingly, it seems that they look bigger every day. I, too, am curious about what these are.

 

[30ABandMan]

What kind of fish?

 

[NotDeadYet]

Dunno.
Lots of fish spawn this time of year.
Close in like this though, I am thinking probably what we refer to as "bait fish."
Yesterday I didn't see any more of the "pulsating beads on a string" - either they got moved away in the rough surf, or they morphed into the schools of tiny little fishes that I did see.
Wish I knew more. There is a lot to know!

 

[BlueFox181]

I'm wondering- is this the same thing I was seeing in every inch of the water? I got up close and they look like brown or black clear-ish little spikes with wings/antenna things. When they are out of the water the wing things disappear and they just look like little spikes all over the beach. There was so many I got out of the water because I just knew one/many would make it in my suit