The conditions are ideal for their presence to be more abundant
The bathing season has already begun for many in much of the Mediterranean coast and the question of other years is repeated: will there be many jellyfish on the beaches this summer? One more year the answer, as explained by the biologist of the Aula del Mar, Jesús Bellido, is that “the ideal conditions exist so that their presence is more abundant than normal”.
Without raising alarms, the experts point out that there are good conditions for jellyfish to be more abundant than normal in the high seas and that, therefore, depending on the winds and currents, the schools move to the coast.
Jellyfish typology
From Safe Sea they point out that the jellyfish that are reaching our shores this summer are of two different species. On the one hand, there is the Pelagia noctiluca, also called carnation jellyfish. That they are the smallest and that they have a high danger. And on the other hand, there is the Rhizostoma Luteum, which is larger in size but whose bite is less dangerous.
In this sense, Enric Sendil, CEO of Safe Sea, explains that “if we are stung by a jellyfish, we must bear in mind that the symptoms are different depending on the species. Thus, if a large jellyfish stings you, it causes itching, redness or small irritations in the affected area. In the case of the carnation jellyfish sting: it is more painful. Depending on the person, it can cause anything from mild swelling to rashes or more serious symptoms.”
How and why jellyfish sting
From Safe Sea they warn that, «in reality, they do not attack. They are passive beings that wander through open and coastal waters, without the intention of capturing. Its tentacles are made up of thousands of stinging cells (nematocysts) which, on contact with a foreign body, release a toxic poison.
Of course, this ability to puncture lasts even when dead. Sometimes they reach the coast dying and die there. But this does not mean that they stop being a danger. Their defense systems are still active. Although the filaments have broken and separated from the umbrella.
For this reason, the already popular placement of nets to protect bathers a hundred meters from the beach is not the solution. These same networks fracture the jellyfish and the tentacles (practically invisible) reach the shore loaded with poison.
#Biologists #warn #Mediterranean #beaches #expect #jellyfish #normal #summer