ANOTHER Costa Blanca beach has been shut to bathers after a Portuguese Man O'War sighting – this time that of El Campello.
Earlier this week, reports of the deadly marine hydrozoan being seen on the beach in Altea led to its being closed, although it was originally expected to be reopened by the May Day bank holiday weekend.
And in the first week in April, lifeguards fished out 14 Portuguese Man O'War from neighbouring Benidorm's Levante and Mal Pas beaches.
Portuguese Man O'War are often referred to as 'fake jellyfish', since they are nearly identical to the latter in appearance and sting, but are in fact a different type of amoeba.
According to the Institute of Coastal Ecology, the Portuguese Man O'War, or Physalia Physalis, is not a 'proper jellyfish' because it comprises 'a colony of polyps' of which the 'most characteristic are its floater and pneumathophorum', and that they usually measure between 15 and 30 centimetres (six inches to a foot).
But their tentacles can be up to 10 metres (32'6”) long.
Their sting is extremely painful and poisonous, sometimes causing toxic reactions – including paralysis - and, in a few rare cases, have proven fatal.
They are not native to the Mediterranean, but come from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
It is rare to see them in Mediterranean waters, but when they do appear, it tends to be when Atlantic masses merge with them towards late April, a time when the seas are warmer as they meet.
And at this time of year, these amoebae are right in the middle of their breeding season.
Wind also makes a difference – the stronger the winds blowing towards the east, the more likely it is that the Portuguese Man O'War will appear.
The local council in El Campello, the latest town in the province of Alicante to close its beach to bathers after the creatures were detected on the shore, says it has taken this action 'as a preventive measure' and only until 'weather conditions change', becoming less favourable for the 'fake jellyfish' and causing them to move on.
Whenever they have been found on Spain's shores, they have never stayed in the area for more than three weeks, according to official records.
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