Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The March Of The Jellyfish

It seems that the Mediterranean coast is being threatened by an invasion of jellyfish. Depending on which newspaper you read, it is reported that between 12500-15000 people have suffered jellyfish stings in Cataluña alone this summer. The reasons are not clear, it seems to be a combination of higher sea temperatures, a reduction in the number of predators through overfishing, and a product of untreated nutrients being dumped into the sea. The warnings are now official from Spanish Civil Protection, and a new flag has been designed to add to the standard ones advising on whether it is safe to swim or not. Happy holidays!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if it's actually an image of a jellyfish on the flag?? I even read today that some quick thinking chinese restaurant in Madrid has put jellyfish on the menu as a starter!

Graeme said...

It would be better to have a special flag, a sort of jellyfish 'skull and crossbones' would be enough to put anyone off swimming - they could even make a useful competition for the scariest flag