West Africa: Fewer fish leads to jellyfish explosion

Nature abhors a vacuum. Wipe out one creature, and another will move in. Jellyfish are taking over. In a region off the west coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, heavy fishing in recent decades has depleted fish stocks while leading to increased numbers of jellyfish. Their numbers are beginning to "significantly interfere with fishing operations," the researchers report in the July 12 issue of the journal Current Biology.