A late jellyfish bloom on the eastern coast of Malta could be an early indication that jellyfish will be present in local waters throughout the early months of summer, according to marine biologist Alan Deidun. 

While the bloom of the mauve stinger is an annual occurrence, it usually happens throughout the December to February period.

“The somewhat late occurrence of this event this year might suggest that the next jellyfish bloom will occur in mid-June, hopefully subsiding by mid-late July, given that the new generation of jellyfish takes around three months to reach a diameter of 5cm to 7cm,” Deidun said. 

Video footage posted by Lovin Malta shows thousands of the mauve stinger species floating about the eastern coast of Malta, primarily in Sliema and Valletta.

@lovinmaltaofficialIt’ll soon be time to swim… or sting 🤭 ##fyp ##fypmalta ##malta ##jellyfish ##sea ##lovinmalta ##tiktokmalta♬ RICH AND FAMOUS – Sara Phillips

While Deidun predicts this may be a sign that the next bloom will be around mid-June, he notes that this is just a rough prediction.

“This is just a rough forecast and it may very well go wrong, given the uncertainty involved,” he said.

What do you make of this? Let us know below