Record Numbers Of Lion's Mane Jellyfish Hitting British Beaches - Times

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SWARMS of jellyfish are plaguing British beaches. Lion’s mane jellyfish, Cyanea capillata, which have a powerful sting, have been reported in record numbers on the west coast. Their sting is not usually fatal but it could be for someone particularly allergic or with an acute medical condition, and bathers have been warned to be on their guard.

The alert came after beaches in Spain and around the Balearics were closed this week because of jellyfish. On the Costa del Sol, Red Cross workers treated 1,400 holidaymakers for stings.

The jellyfish on the Continent are mauve stingers or sea mettles, Pelagia noctiluca, which give a nasty sting but are not generally fatal. Marine experts expect them to reach our shores as global warming brings higher sea temperatures. The immediate threat to British bathers are lion’s mane jellyfish, which are about 4ft in diameter with hundreds of tentacles up to 20ft long. They have been seen from Caithness to Orkney in the north of Scotland.

People on the east coast should also keep a look out because in previous years they have been spotted along the Northumbrian coast and they could travel south to East Anglia. The jellyfish are also being spotted in greater numbers in Ireland. Peter Richardson, an expert in the species at the Marine Conservation Society, said that he had seen “clouds and clouds” of the lion’s mane jellyfish off Scotland. They were also in the Isle of Man and Cumbria. “We don’t think their sting is fatal but it depends if people are particularly sensitive,” he said. “I have known of people stung by a lion’s mane who had a fever for 24 hours.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1704559,00.html