Jellyfish numbers wobble off Britain but tourists warned of Spanish stingers

Fewer jellyfish have been spotted in UK waters this year although recent warmer weather could bring out more blooms of the sea creatures, conservationists said.

While sightings are down in the UK, visitors to Spain’s Costa del Sol have been warned of massive blooms of mauve stinger jellyfish which have left many people requiring treatment for their powerful stings.

This time last year some areas off the UK coast were like a jellyfish soup with large blooms of thousands of the creatures reported, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said.

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But according to the society’s national jellyfish survey, far fewer have been spotted this year, with most of the sightings in the west coast of the UK.

Barrel, moon and blue jellyfish have been seen, as have large numbers of compass jellyfish which were spotted in the South West in late July.

The unusual weather might have affected jellyfish life cycles at sea, the MCS said.

Weeks of heavy rain this summer also kept people away from beaches and the sea, so fewer reports have been coming in, although regular jellyfish recorders also report seeing far fewer this year.

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In the last week sunnier weather and the beginning of the school holidays prompted more reports of jellyfish, and the MCS is calling on people to report their sightings.

The national survey aims to find out where and when jellyfish show up around the UK as part of efforts to learn more about critically endangered leatherback turtles which migrate to British waters to feed on their favourite food each summer.

Jellyfish also act as “thermometers” because they indicate the seas’ health levels. Their increase is linked to overfishing, pollution and climate change.

While there have been fewer sightings in UK waters, visitors to the Costa del Sol are being warned about huge blooms of mauve stinger jellyfish which have plagued the Mediterranean for the last decade.

This year the jellyfish have already left large numbers of people requiring treatment for stings around the coast of Malaga, the MCS said.

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