Thousands of jellyfish have been spotted on several Italian beaches. The animals are poisonous and light up the sea with their bioluminescence.
Livorno – Thousands of glowing jellyfish are currently lighting up the nighttime beaches of Italy: thousands of specimens have been spotted in Tuscany and Sardinia in the last few days. They appeared along the coast of Livorno, near the town of Calafuria, on the island of Giglio (Grosseto province), but also on the island of Sardinia.
Jellyfish glow at night: a fascinating sight for vacationers on Italy’s beaches
According to the Ansa news agency, this was announced by the regional environmental protection authority of Tuscany, which carried out an inspection with diving in Calafuria on the morning of November 25, 2023 to evaluate the reports. However, according to authorities, the phenomenon is not unusual: it is “very common because the autumn period coincides with the flowering of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca, known as the luminous jellyfish,” they say. The genus is also visible at night due to its green bioluminescence and is very common in the Mediterranean. Specifically, it is a species from the Pelagiida family that feeds on plankton and small fish. She catches them with her tentacles.
Italy/Tuscany: Holiday guests should not come too close to poisonous jellyfish
Although the jellyfish and its bioluminescence are a fascinating sight, people should not get too close to it: it is a poisonous jellyfish that is known for the stinging pain it can cause. There was also a jellyfish infestation on Europe’s beaches in the summer, where contact could even be fatal.
Knowledgeable bathers would know to stay away from their tentacles, which are filled with stinging nematocysts. The accumulation occurs every year in summer and autumn. However, in recent years, sightings have increased significantly, both due to greater numbers of people using the beaches to swim even out of season and the lack of predators.
The jellyfish species has a close relationship with the seabed. It lives in a benthic larval stage before becoming planktonic. The number of small fish that feed on these larvae has declined due to several factors, such as pollution. There was also a jellyfish plague on Mallorca in the summer. (cgsc)
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