Warm weather leads to bays cluttered with jellyfish

Maltese bays are being cluttered with “zillions” of jellyfish thanks to the “anomalously” calm and warm December that has advanced spawning this year.

Although the early timings for the egg laying could indicate a jellyfish-free summer, marine biologist Alan Deidun said it was too early for predictions given the variability of the marine environment.

But a “massive” mauve stinger bloom, consisting of the next generation of jellyfish, can be expected sometime in early spring – late March – as long as February and March are not exceptionally cold and stormy, he could safely say.

“How many of these juvenile jellyfish appearing in spring survive will then determine how many jellyfish we will actually observe in summer,” Deidun continued.

Over the past few weeks, reports of adult mauve stingers by numerous citizen scientists have flooded into the ‘Spot the Jellyfish’ campaign, coordinated by Deidun.

Their resurfacing took place a tad earlier than usual, as the egg laying generally occurs over the January-February period, he said.

“This means the next generation of jellyfish medusae hatching from the laid eggs will come of age over the next two to three months, as long as the water...