Family on fishing trip sail into massive ‘sea of jellyfish'

By Elizabeth Hunter

A family on a fishing trip sailed into a massive ''sea of jellyfish."

Daniel Macleod, 37, had taken his twin boys out on their small boat in Dunbeath, Scotland.

It suddenly floated into a "dense, thick mass" of jellyfish.

Thousands of moon jellyfish were swarming around Dunbeath Bay as Daniel recorded the bizarre event.

He said: "My twin boys Max and Jake and I were heading out to do a bit of handline fishing for mackerel.

"We started noticing jellyfish immediately after leaving the harbour - there were a lot more jellyfish than normal.

"Immediately as we got into Dunbeath bay, it was just a carpet of moon jellyfish.

"We went a little bit further to where we would normally put our handlines down, and it was just this dense, thick mass of jellyfish.

"My sons were very excited - they've seen jellyfish when we've been out before, but normally just an odd one or two.

"They were amazed by this sheer carpet of jellyfish - a sea of jellyfish is what they called it.

"It was quite unbelievable to see - it was something that I've certainly never witnessed in my years of fishing."

Daniel was concerned about the potential effect the swarm might have on the boat - but thankfully, they passed through with no issues.

He says the day's fishing, however, was noticeably impacted.

"We were okay with the boat, but there obviously is a worry there, because the boat does have to draw water from the sea to cool the engine down," he said.

"That comes from underneath the boat, and when you're going through that dense mass of jellyfish, there is a potential of the water intake to be blocked.

"Luckily, nothing did happen in regards to the boat - but the fishing was not like it normally would be.

"It was definitely harder fishing - we didn't catch anywhere near what we would normally, so something was a little bit different in the waters."

Daniel posted the footage on social media, to shocked reactions from friends and family.

"I think people were quite shocked and amazed that we have this on our doorstep," he said.

"It's definitely rare - but we've seen a couple of rare sightings out here in Dunbeath Bay.

"Last year, we saw a fin whale right beside the boat, then a beagle shark as well.

"Things are a little bit different in our waters here in Dunbeath for some reason."

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This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 9:05 AM.