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Moments after the sun sinks into the west, ripples appear on the water.
“Welcome to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Indian River Lagoon,” says Mike Mahan, the owner of A Day Away Kayak.
Soon, those ripples widen as a dorsal fin breaks the surface, as wild dolphin catch their dinner. But there is more on the menu as it becomes dark.
“What we’re going to see tonight is a jellyfish that didn’t quite make it into being a jelly fish,” Mike hints.
The retired church pastor takes kayakers out onto the still waters of Brevard County where if you’re lucky, the night lights up underwater.
“It’s like a firefly,” Mike explains. “The comb jellies are like fireflies in the water.”
Each winter when the water is cold, comb jellies in the water will light-up when touched. The jellyfish-like creatures don’t sting. Instead, they emit a faint blue light when touched.
As we kayak across parts of the Indian River, just north of the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, we begin to see quarter-sized dots of blue light.
“I caught a lot of them. When you move them side-to-side in your hand, they can glow,” says an excited Elizabeth Cole.
“They are kinda electrical looking,” Laura Cole says in agreement.
The Cole family from Titusville spent a school night on the water getting a lesson not taught in textbooks.
“And then, not only to see it, but then be able to pick them up and feel them and touch them… there were different sizes, little ones and big guys and it was just beautiful,” Laura says.
Seeing the comb jellies are easy to the naked eye. Turn on a light, and the glow will disappear. However, you can then see the translucent, almost clear jelly like mass resting in the palm of your hand.
“When you move it around, it actually… it actually makes bioluminescence,” states Casey Cole. “That’s animal light source.”
What’s not hard to see with the help of a flashlight are the horseshoe crabs that Mike will bring up from the bottom. Holding the crab’s tail, Mike holds one of the crabs outward to the kayak full of Elizabeth and Casey. Both shriek with glee as they try to muster up the courage to touch the crab.
“They were very big. I actually saw their lungs flipping around like paper,” Casey says.
“It was amazing and it was fun,” he concludes.
There is more Florida on a Tankful waiting for you On Demand and On Television.
Watch On Demand
Watch Florida on a Tankful now with the new “Bright House Local On Demand” on your Bright House Networks digital cable. Visit
channel 999, Bright House Local on Demand. Use your remote control to scroll to the right to the TRAVEL category. Then SCROLL DOWN to TANKFUL.
Tankful on Television
You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday and Saturday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m. Classic Florida on a Tankful stories can be found each Friday and Sunday on Bay News 9 and News 13 at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m
Published at Thu, 13 Feb 2014 10:30:00 +0000
