I saw this news yesterday and was emailed it by a friend, but hadn't time to comment on it. I was out with my friend Helen at a thanksgiving dinner in Apsley Street Gospel Hall in Belfast last night. Mmmmm... those sweet-potatoes were beautiful. We had a traditional American meal, followed by a thanksgiving-day quiz. Our team won the prize :).

Ireland's only salmon farm has been wiped out by a flotilla of jellyfish in a deadly attack that lasted seven hours and killed over 100,000 fish. The jellyfish, thought to be Mauve Stingers, killed salmon within a ten square mile area, causing around £1 million worth of damage. Mauve Stingers were once found only in warmer waters such as the Mediterranean, but the species has migrated further north as climate change brings warmer seas. Staff at the salmon farm are afraid they may loose their jobs if the Department of Agriculture is unable to provide emergency aid to rescue the business. 

Quote: "John Russell, the managing director of Northern Salmon Co. Ltd., said last night: "In 30 years, I've never seen anything like it. It was unprecedented, absolutely amazing. The sea was red with these jelly fish and there was nothing we could do about, it, absolutely nothing." Last week's attack lasted nearly seven hours, with the small jellyfish stinging and shocking salmon held in an area covering 10 square miles and 35 feet deep. Workers in three boats tried to reach the cages to rescue the salmon, but the extreme density of jellyfish slowed their progress through the water, and by the time they reached the cages it was too late.

As my friend Mike commented in his email, the Scriptures state that during the tribulation period, the sea (perhaps the Mediterranean?) will be turned a blood-red colour, and all life that is in it will be destroyed. There is a phenomenon today known as Red Tide, which could bring about the fulfillment of this prophecy. Red Tide is caused by the blooming of a certain type of algae. To the right is a picture of such an algae bloom off the coast of La Jolla, California. These algae blooms produce toxins that can kill sea life and cause respiratory problems and skin irritations in humans. They can also starve the water of oxygen, making whole regions of the sea completely incapable of supporting life. As you can see from the picture, John's description of the sea becoming like blood is quite apt.

Quote: "SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—An algae bloom known as red tide is turning local waters a rusty brown, causing some people to mistake the condition for an oil spill. Water authorities have received calls from people who think a sunken ship in the area is leaking or that the water has been fouled from last week's 58,000-gallon oil spill in San Francisco Bay. "But it's not part of the oil spill in San Francisco," said Steve Peters, a water quality specialist with Santa Cruz County Environmental Health Services. "It's just the colour of the water," he said. The red tide started accumulating about 12 days ago. Samples taken near the Santa Cruz and Capitola wharfs and off Seacliff State Beach detected an algae species called cochlodinium that can kill fish.

Revelation 16:3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.

Source Telegraph, Mercury News