In bloom: Jellyfish spotters take scientific project into its ninth year

It would be very hard to imagine a summer in Malta without the sea. Every day thousands of tourists and locals swarm to beaches all around the island in search of some relaxation.

Very few things can ruin a day at the beach quite like getting stung by a jellyfish or finding that the beach you have gone too is infested with them.

The Spot the Jellyfish campaign, currently in its ninth year, is a citizen science initiative that allows people to report jellyfish sightings. In addition to providing validated reports on these sightings, Spot the Jellyfish is also a useful tool in learning how to deal with stings.

The campaign is administered by the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta and the International Ocean Institute.

Professor Alan Deidun, one of the researchers behind the initiative, explained that as is the case with fish, more alien species of jellyfish are being spotted in Malta.

In some cases, he explained, they might come from the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, as is the case with the nomadic jellyfish, the upside-down jellyfish and the Australian spotted jellyfish.

Deidun said there had also been some sightings of the Portugese Man o’war, an Atlantic jellyfish.

“There is a science behind how jellyfish stings should be treated,” he said, explaining that there was a specific way of treating stings by different species. “As a general rule, you should not apply fresh water, but that that’s about it.”

Deidun pointed to the campaign’s website, app and Facebook page, as well as a number of information boards placed at beaches, as a way for the public to know what to do if they are stung.

Asked whether anything could be done to prevent getting stung, Deidun said that what he would recommend is carrying a snorkel and having an occasional look underneath the sea.

He said that predicting jellyfish occurrences and their intensity was a complex matter that was dependent on several factors including sea temperature, pollution, overfishing and an increase in artificial surfaces in the sea where they could lay their eggs all contributed to an increase in jellyfish.

He said that while people could do their part by reporting any sightings, there was little one could do on a local level since the issue was one that can only be addressed on a Mediterranean level.

PHOTOS Spot The Jellyfish campaign / ALAN DEIDUN