JELLYFISH ON THE COSTA DEL SOL

JELLYFISH ON THE COSTA DEL SOL

Jellyfish invasion causes chaos for Costa tourists
By Mike Swain


BRITISH tourists were warned yesterday about an invasion of stinging jellyfish that have attacked thousands of bathers in Spanish resorts.
The Red Cross said it has treated more than 1,400 holidaymakers on the Costa del Sol alone last weekend.
Swarms of the mauve stinger - or pelagia noctiluca - have forced some beaches to ban tourists from the sea.
Red Cross spokesman, Andoni de Saracho, said: "We have never seen an invasion of jellyfish so big before.


"On some beaches we have had 60 people waiting for treatment. It is very worrying."
The worst hit areas include the Balearic islands - mainly Minorca - Costa Blanca, Costa Brava and the Canary Islands.
And on mainland Spain in Catalonia, on the Barcelona coast, there have been reports of up to 5,000 stings a day.
The jellyfish grows up to 10cm long and has eight tentacles - each up to three metres long. Its powerful sting leaves a large red mark.
Some people suffer allergic reactions which need urgent medical treatment.
Those in most danger include children, the elderly, asthmatics and people with heart problems.
Lawyer Mark Chopin, 37, of Beckenham, Kent, was stung on a beach in Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol. He said: "It was excruciatingly painful."
Josep Maria Gili, of the Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona, blames a rise in water temperatures in the Med and a decline in sea predators such as turtles.