Thursday 5 October 2017

Thousands of Portuguese Man O'War are washing up on UK beaches


'They are not supposed to be here' 

British beaches are being invaded by swarms of deadly Portuguese Man O'War.

Thousands of the species have washed up on shores on the south coast as a result of extreme weather and a series of hurricanes in the Atlantic, according to The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) which said the infestation was the biggest since 2003.

While their stings are not usually deadly, they can prove fatal in some circumstances.
Swimmers have been told to wear full body suits and parents are being advised to exercise “extreme caution” with children playing on beaches.

The creatures are usually found in warmer waters and in the open ocean but have reached the UK in greater numbers than usual this year. In an average year, 1000 to 1500 sightings of Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish are reported on British shores but more than 2000 have been spotted in the UK already this year. There were also above-average numbers of sightings in 2009 and 2012.


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