Jellyfish Invade the Croatian Coast
Dangerous jellyfish have invaded the southern coast of Croatia - their bites are very painful and can leave scars.
This is reported by the Danas website.
They look delicate and fragile, and in human terms can be compared to ballerinas. However, red warning flags are posted on several Croatian beaches because of Pelagia noctiluca.
"Most of the time, the bites burn, it was especially painful for children, but in the end, everything ended well. The red flag was put up because of the warning, not because of the ban on swimming," explained Antonio Benussi, a lifeguard from the Dubrovnik Red Cross.
On Danče beach in Dubrovnik, a jellyfish burned eight people in one day last week.
"At first, there were a few here and there. But then there were more and more of them. In the end, I caught twenty-five in a bucket. And I fished them out of the water with a glass," says 11-year-old Andrej Stipić from Dubrovnik.
Similar jellyfish have appeared on other beaches in Dubrovnik.
"They also appeared near Mandrac beach," says Ramona Popović from the Dubrovnik Red Cross.
According to the website, the burns from the "glowing saucer" are very painful and visible for several days. In rare cases, a scar may remain after a bite.
"It is best to rub the area with sea sand, and then pour vinegar or at least rinse it with sea water. In no case should you rinse with fresh water," says Marko Marinović, head of the emergency department at Dubrovnik Hospital.
According to him, in case of severe burns, it is advisable to use something plastic, such as a credit card, to scrape off the remnants of glowing cells from the skin.
"I was swimming in the sea and was stung by a jellyfish. It was very painful, but now it just itches," says a tourist from Zagreb about his encounter with a jellyfish on the islet of Vrnik.
It is impossible to prevent a meeting with a jellyfish, you just have to be careful. According to the website, these jellyfish with their characteristic "cap" and long tentacles are easy to spot.
The species that caused concern among swimmers, Pelagia Noctiluca, is one of the most dangerous in the Adriatic. In general, jellyfish mostly stay in the open sea and only occasionally appear along the coast.
"All those waves that are directed to the south when the south wind blows or to the west when the mistral blows are sensitive. Therefore, these jellyfish are locally concentrated there. In general, their number in the sea is small. If you go looking for them in the open sea, you probably won't find them, you would, but they are concentrated locally because of the effect of currents and wind," explained Rade Garic, a researcher at the Institute of Sea and Coast in Dubrovnik.
Pelagia noctiluca is a species of scyphoid jellyfish in the Pelagiidae family.
The species is widespread in warm seas and oceans around the world. It is most common in the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii, California, and Mexico.
The umbrella reaches 20-25 cm in diameter, tentacles can be up to 2 m long. The body colour is delicate, purple-red, and the tentacles are bright red. The jellyfish starts to glow when it comes into contact with any object.
Contact with jellyfish tentacles is dangerous for humans. After touching the tentacles, a burn similar to a nettle burn appears on the human body, and in case of severe damage, it leaves distinct scars.
Earlier, The Gaze told you about five places in Croatia that will leave an indelible impression in the memories of the most discerning travellers, as well as what is the best thing to bring home as a souvenir from a trip to this country.