While the number of jellyfish was enough to frighten even the most seasoned sea fairer, the employees were able to spot a sea turtle among them, possibly taking advantage of the situation as jellyfish is a favorite food of some sea turtle species.
While the sea turtle managed to make light of the situation, it and the jellyfish pose a real danger to the power plant's operating systems, as they can disrupt the station's production process.
In order to prevent the jellyfish from being sucked into the operating systems, filters are put in place to catch them and direct them to tanks.
After staff noticed the presence of the sea turtle, they captured it and safely released it back into the Mediterranean sea.Jellyfish are a common phenomenon for Israeli beach goers. Swimmers are used to keeping an eye out for them in the water, while sunbathers and those remaining on the beach know to look out for the many that wash up on shores. This isn't the first time that jellyfish were reported to have caused problems for the power station. In July 2019, when Israel saw a massive increase in jellyfish numbers, the animals were reported to have blocked up the Rotenburg station's operating systems. At the time, researchers from the University of Haifa's Charney School of Marine Sciences explained the reason behind the increase of jellyfish in Israel's water. According to the researchers, while the jellyfish phenomenon has been occurring for many years, the increase was owed to nutrients that flooded into the ocean by the large amounts of rainfall. They added that, "[the jellyfish] are predators, and massive swarms/blooms with large predation pressure can cause ecosystems to become unbalanced."