Cloze: A Jellyfish Nightmare

One hundred thousand fish were killed by jellyfish at a salmon farm in Northern Ireland recently. This ___________________________(1) the business around a million pounds.

The Northern Salmon Co. Ltd. said billions of jellyfish – in a thick pack of about 10 square kilometres and 10 metres deep – devastated the fish population last week in two net pens about a mile ___________________________(2) from the coast of the Glens of Antrim.

A representative of the company said that the twelve workers of the farm tried to save the salmon, but it was very difficult ___________________________(3) their boats to push through the dense masses of jellyfish. By the time the team managed to get to the pens, all of the salmon were either dead on the surface ___________________________(4) dying from jellyfish stings and stress.

The representative also said that in his 30 year ___________________________(5) in the fishery business he had never seen ___________________________(6) like it. “The sight was amazing – it seemed as ___________________________(7) the whole sea had turned red with these creatures.”

The type of jellyfish that are responsible for this disaster, Pelagia nocticula – popularly ___________________________(8) as the mauve stinger – is notable for its purplish night-time glow. These things also tend to cause a ___________________________(9) of problems for the tourists in the Mediterranean Sea. These jellyfish had not been seen in the cold waters surrounding the British Isles until the past decade. Scientists say that this is a clear indication of global warming.

The Northern Irish fishery which produces organic salmon and exports it to France, Belgium, Germany and the United States is in deep trouble and is likely to close ___________________________(10) it receives emergency help and support from the British government.

Adapted from na article by Katherine McCurrie