Watch: Massive Swarm Of Purple Jellyfish Invade St Julian’s Spinola Bay
Massive swarms of purple jellyfish have been invading Maltese waters over the last few weeks, this morning in Spinola Bay in St Julians.
Footage sent to Lovin Malta shows a sizeable swarm of purple jellyfish – one of the most commonly found in Malta, also known as the mauve stinger.
The man who encountered the jellyfish expressed his concern at the sight when speaking with the newsroom, linking their increase in the amount to a decrease in turtles and the wind direction.
“According to fishermen friends of mine, this is happening because of the lack of turtles, due to them being eaten by sharks and whales,” he explained.
“The number of sharks and whales within the Mediterranean sea has increased, therefore more turtles are being eaten and their population has decreased,” he said.
“Turtles eat jellyfish, therefore we are going to have problems. Especially when the wind direction is coming from North East,” he concluded.
Many turtles are also often lost due to plastic pollution, due to them mistaking plastic for food and consequently choking on it.
This is not the first time that Malta has seen a massive increase in jellyfish within Maltese waters during this time, but it does seem as though it is on an increasing trend.
Have you encountered any swarms of jellyfish?
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