Balearics warned to be alert for the return of jellyfish

PALMA
THE Balearics is not going to be spared the annual jellyfish invasion this summer despite biologists reporting that some parts of the east coast of mainland Spain can expect to be given a respite this year.

The Oceanographic Centre in Murcia and the Spanish Oceanographic Institute yesterday announced that they have dedicated a cyclical trend in European jellyfish.

For example, careful monitoring of the Adriatic, which was infested by jellyfish in the 60's, has shown that the jellyfish population returns every ten years.

Spanish Institute marine biologist Ignacio Franco, said yesterday that data collated from the Adriatic has yet to prove conclusive, but nothing has been found to rule out a similar cyclical pattern in jellyfish activity happening in the Mediterranean.

The Mar Menor lagoons - in Murcia - have suffered a significant decline in their jellyfish populations over the past four years and the biologists believe that this is the first sign of a cyclical existence.