The jellyfish often encountered in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer is the sea nettle Chrysaora quinquecirrha. Knowing where and when to expect this biotic nuisance may help to alleviate an unpleasant encounter. These near-real-time maps of sea nettle distribution are experimental products.

Chrysaora quinquecirrha is white and occurs most abundantly in the tributaries of the middle Bay, where salinities range from 10 to 20 parts per thousand (ppt). In the southern Bay, it often has red/maroon markings on the long central tentacles and on the swimming bell. C. quinquecirrha occurs from Cape Cod south along the U.S. East Coast, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico; it abounds in the Chesapeake Bay in numbers unequaled elsewhere.

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