If you were to jump into the water, you might find yourself jumping back out again pretty quickly for reasons other than the icy waters. There is a particularly nasty species of jellyfish called the Mauve Stinger whose population in the Med has been growing exponentially these past few years, and who is commonly found in Maltese waters. Global warming and over-fishing of it’s predators have been blamed for this rise in numbers, but it’s bad news for the tourist industry if beaches become over-run.
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| Mauve Stinger Jellyfish |
On a stroll around St Paul’s yesterday we saw a lot of these little guys bobbing about in the water, and one of them was good enough to pose for a few snaps for us.
As you can see from the warning signs here, this fellow lives up to his name and delivers a nasty sting. If you are unlucky enough to get stung, you will suffer painfully inflamed skin, and may be left with long-lasting scars or discoloured skin. If you were to get stung in the eyes, well… best to wear goggles.
There’s more about the various types of jellyfish to be found in these waters (and what to do if you get stung) here.
A good way to protect yourself from stings is to lather on the sun cream before you get in the water, as this stops the venom from getting under your skin. Wearing sun-screen during a Maltese summer is a pretty good idea anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard to remember.
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I never thought about this until reading your post, but what *are* the natural predators of stinging jellyfish? Are there marine animals that have natural defences against the sting?
Hmmm. Apparently they are quite a delicacy in some Asian countries, so perhaps Japanese fishing trawlers are their natural enemies. Otherwise I will guess ‘walrus’.
I hate these wee bastards! Luckily only experienced a few very small stings but they are really horrible, I hope we don’t have trouble with them this summer!