- Cavs get 17th win as Celtics edge T-Wolves and Heat burn in OT
- Asian markets begin week on front foot, bitcoin rally stutters
- IOC chief hopeful Sebastian Coe: 'We run risk of losing women's sport'
- K-pop fans take aim at CD, merchandise waste
- Notre Dame inspired Americans' love and help after fire
- Court hearing as parent-killing Menendez brothers bid for freedom
- Closing arguments coming in US-Google antitrust trial on ad tech
- Galaxy hit Minnesota for six, Orlando end Atlanta run
- Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election
- High stakes as Bayern host PSG amid European wobbles
- Australia's most decorated Olympian McKeon retires from swimming
- Far-right candidate surprises in Romania elections, setting up run-off with PM
- Left-wing candidate Orsi projected to win Uruguay election
- UAE arrests three after Israeli rabbi killed
- Five days after Bruins firing, Montgomery named NHL Blues coach
- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for Grand Slam
- Truce called after 82 killed in Pakistan sectarian clashes
- Salah wants Liverpool to pile on misery for Man City after sinking Saints
- Berrettini takes Italy to brink of Davis Cup defence
- Lille condemn Sampaoli to defeat on Rennes debut
Jellyfish invade Venezuelan waters, worrying fishermen
A thick bloom of varying hues drifts in the turquoise waters of Aragua in Venezuela, a surreal vision attributed to climate change that has decimated fishing stocks.
"It is like there are flowers in the sea. This has never happened before," said Elvis Morillo, 59, a fisherman in the northern village of Chuao, where verdant mountains hug the Caribbean coast.
The invasive cannonball jellyfish is filling fishermen's nets, in a surge the environment ministry attributes to warming waters from climate change and a decline in jellyfish predators such as sharks and sea turtles.
At the same time, "sardines and other species that serve as fishing bait have disappeared. Fishing is at its lowest level in years," said Gustavo Carrasquel, of the NGO Azul Ambientalistas, who lives in Choroni, a town neighboring Chuao.
Globally, jellyfish populations have soared. Researchers have warned of a tipping point in which the oceans could go from being dominated by fish populations, to jellyfish -- mostly as a result of overfishing.
The gelatinous creatures, which do not have a heart, brain or complex organs, thrive in harsh conditions and need little oxygen.
This is an "atypical event, completely abnormal," said Joxmer Scott-Frias, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology and Tropical Ecology at the Central University of Venezuela.
"A few individuals had been observed in recent years, but the increase in the population this year exceeded previous estimates," he said while collecting samples of the jellyfish for study.
Scott-Frias said the reasons for the surge were not yet clear.
The jellyfish bloom and the presence of the invasive coral Unomia stolonifera, which smothers native corals, have become a headache for local fishermen.
"It has been almost nine months without fish production," said Fernando Mayora, head of the fishermen's council in Choroni.
"With the problem of jellyfish and invasive corals, we don't know what to do. The fish have disappeared," he said.
In Chuao, fishermen who would bring in between 3,000 and 5,000 kilograms a week have seen their yields drop to between 500 and 1,000 kilograms, said Douglas Martinez, 44, a fisherman.
Mayora said that Venezuela should draw inspiration from countries such as Mexico, which exploits jellyfish commercially, exporting it to Asian countries where it is used in gastronomy or the pharmaceutical industry.
"We need to know if we can take advantage of this in Venezuela," he said.
O.Krause--BTB