MI Scuba Divers in Lake Huron Encounter Large Group of Jellyfish

Some scuba divers were a bit surprised to come across a group (bloom) of jellyfish during a recent dive in Lake Huron. The divers with Michigan Diver were 11 miles North of Port Austin when the encounter took place.

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After their encounter with the freshwater jellyfish, they shared their photos on the Saginaw Bay “Michigan” Fishing Facebook group.

Chris Roth, Diver:

We were scuba diving yesterday, 11 miles North of Port Austin, in 175' of water, and had a large cloud of jellyfish, go by. YES, Jellyfish. Has anyone ever heard of this in the Great Lakes? If another invasive, like the zebra mussel, this could be scary! They were quite small, about the size of a quarter, and in the top 80' of the water column.

The presence of jellyfish in the Great Lakes might sound unusual, but it's actually not as uncommon as you'd think.

There have been freshwater jellyfish sightings in Michigan's waters dating all the way back to 1933, according to WDIV. The first sighting took place in the Huron River near Ann Arbor. Since then, freshwater jellyfish have been found in Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and dozens of inland lakes and streams.

Capt'n Michael Lynch

Fun swimming with jellyfish in Lake Huron today. They were great dive buddies to pass the time on decompression.

Are Michigan Freshwater Jellyfish Dangerous?

Freshwater jellyfish are much smaller than those found in our oceans and pose no threat to humans.