Deadly jellyfish which wiped out salmon worth more than £1m last year in Northern Ireland’s waters emerges again. The authority confirmed that Mauve Stinger jellyfish were spotted on Sunday on Portrush’s West Strand by an Environment Agency worker. According to the scientists the small purple creatures were the same species which killed more than 150,000 salmon in cages off the Antrim coast last year.
The Environment Agency informed that there was no indication there would be a repeat of last year’s “catastrophic bloom”. Marine Conservation Officer Joe Breen expressed that the authorities had informed Northern Salmon, the company which was devastated by the jellyfish invasion. Recent survey also confirmed that the jellyfish are present at West Strand, East Strand Portrush and White Rocks. No jellyfish have yet been detected further east at Ballycastle beach.
Breen advised people to stay clear of the jellyfish, which are capable of a nasty powerful sting. It is found that in recent years, increasing numbers of Mauve Stinger jellyfish in the Mediterranean have posed a danger for swimmers. Their presence in the colder northern waters is thought to be due to wind and tidal factors. According to a marine biology lecturer said he had heard reports that the jellyfish stretched all the way from Sligo to the County Antrim coast, but it was not yet clear if they were in isolated bunches or a continuous plume.
