'Swarms' of jellyfish pose threat to Mediterranean tourism
The Mediterranean Sea is becoming an 'ocean' of potentially deadly jellyfish that could threaten tourism, according to a scientist.
The traditional holiday hotspot for Britons is said to have seen a sharp increase in the number of jellyfish living in its waters.
So much so that a scheme to monitor the species - called 'Jellywatch' - has been set up, enabling people to report sightings via a phone app or website.
Swarm: Experts have warned there has been a huge boom in the jellyfish population in the Mediterranean, like this group of pelagia jellyfish
Last year more than 2,000 jellyfish sightings were recorded and this year's records are already higher.
While researchers say this could be down to the success of Jellywatch, sightings have been recorded of jellyfish that were previously unknown in the Mediterranean, including the Atlantic species Catostylus tagi.
Ferdinando Boero, professor of zoology at the University of Salento in Italy, who conceived and helped launch the scheme, said: 'While jellyfish are a natural feature of the Mediterranean, "jelly blooms" were rarely seen until the last few years, when massive swarms became a frequent sight in coastal waters.
'This causes all sorts of problems and one of the biggest is obviously tourism - mayors of towns have askedthe scientific community about the problem.'
Deadly: A Portuguese Man o' War jellyfish killed an Italian woman last year
He explained: 'Jellyfish cause problems for swimmers, particularly as some species are a real healt! h hazard - an Italian woman was killed last year after being stung by a Portuguese Mano' War.'
Prof Boero believes that over-fishing could be to blame for the increase in jellyfish, as well as other factors including climate change and man-made changes to the ecosystem with the building of coastal defences.
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He warned: 'If we don't do anything about the situation, all the indications from Jellywatch suggest that the Mediterranean is moving towards a gelatinous future, just like the rest of the seas of the world.'
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