Through a combination of plankton blooms, which attracts jellyfish, and wind reversals and the full moon, there are mating box jellyfish surrounding our waters that have painful and nasty stings that can be dangerous.

The hospital on Bonaire has protocols in place for bites and stings, including those of jellyfish. Self-help tools are hot salt water, vinegar (note: not for stings from the Portuguese Man of War) and the medicine Sting No More, available at dive shops and pharmacies. Do not use: urine, fresh water, scratching or rubbing

Plankton blooms are rare and short-lived. During wind reversals these blooms are sometime swept towards our leeward coast. The good news is that plankton and jellyfish are food for turtles, rays and whale sharks.