HELLO to all our Finnish fans and their friends, coming in by the hundreds to read about jellyfish! The water is still warm and the Andaman coast is a great destination, even if you have to share the sea now . . . still plenty of fun in the sun here.

JELLYFISH plagued Patong beach for a second day today as other reports came of more unseasonal invaders on the sand at Nai Harn, Kata Noi, Karon and Surin.

Veterans of Phuket's beaches say they have never seen anything like it before - and in the middle of tourism's high season.

Dr Somchai Bussarawit, the chief of the museum and aquarium at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre, is attempting to chart the scale of the infestations and determine why it is happening.

The plague at Nai Harn appears to have come before the Patong infestation began yesterday.

A Phuketwan reader wrote today: ''Hundreds of them have washed up on shore in the past week. Normally this species is pinkish in color (at least the ones I have seen offshore when snorkeling).

''These have a blackish tinge which leads me to believe they are dying though for what reason I have no idea. There doesn't appear to be a stinging problem but most bathers are staying out of the water.

''I have lived here 10 years and never experienced this phenomenon before.

''Water pollution is certainly a prime culprit. Only time will tell whether or not this is cyclical or destined to be an ongoing problem with Phuket's beaches.''

Descriptions of the jellyfish at Nai Harn seem at odds with the Patong infestation.

Patong authorities have told Dr Somchai they would clear the jellyfish from the beach.

Dr Somchai said the type found at Patong was not dangerous. He was seeking samples from Nai Harn.

Jellyfish have also been reported at Kata Noi.

Song Saeingtong, who has worked on the beach at Nai Harn for 18 years, said the jellyfish there were also not dangerous.

''I have never seen jellyfish as thick as this,'' he told Phuiketwan. ''I have no idea why they are here. It is strange to see them in the middle of high season.''

The worldwide increase in jellyfish is blamed on decreased numbers of their natural predators, fish and turtles.

Dr Somchai, who collected specimens at Patong yesterday, said the Patong jellyfish was of the following kind:

Class Scyphozoa
Order Scyphomedusae
Suborder Rhizostomae
Family Cepheidae
Specific name: Cephea cephea (Forskal)

Width about 20 cm. Pink to liliac above, brown below, with a central dome covered in 10-30 large, irregular protuberences and circled by a shallow " moat". Mouth-arms recurved, with many filaments, just exceeding disc width.

Habitat: oceanic, occasionally drifting inshore.
Distribution: Tropical Indo-Pacific, N-Australia, some records W Africa.
N.B. sting harmless



Yuk! Jellyfish Plague Invades Patong Beach
Jellyfish Album Patong beach is enduring an invasion of jellyfish of an undetermined kind, alarming some visitors and raising concerns about tourism and the environment of Phuket.
Yuk! Jellyfish Plague Invades Patong Beach

Box Jellyfish 'Found On Phuket's West Coast'
An Australian couple on a luxury yacht appear to have become the first people to identify the presence of dangerous box jellyfish on Phuket's popular west coast.
Box Jellyfish 'Found On Phuket's West Coast'



Phuket Jellyfish Alert: The Biggest Test Yet?
Photo Album 'Sun, surf, sand ... but deadly jellyfish cast shadow on Phuket.' Hong Kong readers learn about Phuket's biological crisis.
Phuket Jellyfish Alert: The Biggest Test Yet?

Phuket Box Jellyfish: Are We In Danger?
Photo Album Virtually every day now, box jellyfish are being found at a spot not far from Phuket City as marine biologists puzzle over their unexpected presence. Should we be alarmed?
Phuket Box Jellyfish: Are We In Danger?



Phuket Jellyfish Alert: Expert To Fly In, Seminar Too
More accurate information should become available about the dangerous box jellyfish discovered on Phuket's east coast after an expert flies in for further research.
Phuket Jellyfish Alert: Expert To Fly In, Seminar Too

Phuket Alert: Expert Guide to Jellyfish
The box jellyfish found in a Phuket bay have probably always been here, says an expert. She shatters some of the myths and offers hope for safety programs to prevent deaths and injuries.
Phuket Alert: Expert Guide to Jellyfish

Phuket Jellyfish Alert: No Cause For Panic
The Governor of Phuket hears a briefing on the Phuket box jellyfish alert and suggests continuing research, alerting people to the dangers and the treatment of stings, and avoiding panic
Phuket Box Jellyfish:'No Cause For Panic'

Phuket Box Jellyfish: Biologist Sounds Alert
Phuket's Marine Biological Centre has issued an alert over the presence of box jellyfish in waters off Krabi and Phuket. Scientists are continuing to try to define more clearly the dangers, without unnecessary alarm.
Phuket Box Jellyfish: Biologist Sounds Alert

Box Jellyfish Found Off Phuket: Death in Krabi
The death of a tourist off Krabi and the discovery of a non-fatal form of box jellyfish off Phuket bring a call for help - and a claim that many more deaths go unrecorded.
Box Jellyfish Found Off Phuket: Death in Krabi