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Waves of jellyfish invade Spanish beaches

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 08:03 CDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Unusually high concentrations of jellyfish have appeared along Spain's Mediterranean coast this summer, to the discomfort of thousands of tourists, officials said on Wednesday.

The Red Cross said its lifeguards had treated almost 11,000 people for stings on beaches so far this season in the northeastern region of Catalonia alone, twice the number from the same period last year, when the jellyfish count had already begun to rise.

Almunecar on the south coast had to cancel an annual swimming race across the bay last Sunday because of the number of jellyfish in the water, a town hall spokesman said.

Factors such as drought, heat and over-fishing all contribute to a rising jellyfish count, said Xavier Pastor, vice president of the international environmental group Oceana.

Warmer than usual coastal waters encourage the creatures to venture closer to shore, in search of lower salt concentrations and nutrients in urban waste water and agricultural run-off.

At the same time the Mediterranean's population of larger fish and turtles -- which feed on jellyfish -- has declined.

"This year's crisis is not only affecting the Mediterranean," Pastor said. "In the Azores (Portuguese islands in the Atlantic) we recently found high concentrations of Portuguese Man-of-War, which is much more dangerous."

Source: REUTERS

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