Thousands of jellyfish arrived in April this year on the Costa Brava and, to a lesser extent, in Maresma and Garrafa. They caused alarm, and several people posted photos and videos on social media from various beaches where hundreds of Velella velella, Velas de mar or Barquitas de San Pedro — colonies of polyps — and Pelagia noctiluca, luminous jellyfish or Clavel de mar can be seen.
Thousands of Jellyfish
Such as Velella velella or Pelagia noctiluca, and are found all year round, and coastal ones such as Rhizostoma pulmo or Cotylorhiza tuberculata, which resemble a fried egg in shape. There are about ten jellyfish in Catalonia, and half a dozen of them are the most common. Thousands of jellyfish arrived in April this year on the Costa Brava and, to a lesser extent, in Maresma and Garrafa. They caused alarm, and several people posted photos and videos on social media from various beaches where hundreds of Velella velella, Velas de mar or Barquitas de San Pedro — colonies of polyps — and Pelagia noctiluca, luminous jellyfish or Clavel de mar can be seen.
The presence of these oceanic species in spring is a normal phenomenon, but it has shifted by a month. Experts predict that they will appear earlier and in greater numbers due to various factors. Among them are an increase in water temperature — which allows them to reproduce more than once, — the absence of predators — turtles, birds and sunfish, — winds from sea to land and the fact that in coastal waters due to drought, the amount of fresh water - rains, rivers or swamps — has decreased and they have ceased to be a natural barrier for these species. "In the short term, this is not reversible, just like climate change. We will have to get used to the fact that jellyfish will become our companions on summer beaches," says Josep Maria Gili, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM).
Types of Jellyfish that you will be able to See in Spain
There are two types of jellyfish: oceanic, which spend their entire life cycle in the open sea, such as Velella velella or Pelagia noctiluca, and are found all year round, and coastal, such as Rhizostoma pulmo or Cotylorhiza tuberculata, which resemble a fried egg in shape. There are about ten jellyfish in Catalonia, and half a dozen of them are the most common.
Pinkish sea carnations up to 20 centimeters in diameter with tentacles almost two meters long will continue to appear throughout the summer. This week, thousands of them made a splash on the beaches of the Cap de Creus Natural Park between the southern districts of Cadaques and Roses.