Portuguese Man of War

Most unusually, at this time of the year, there is a plague of jelly fish, along the Spanish Mediterranean coast........
Jelly fish normally appear at the height of the summer, in July and August, when the water temperature is high.....most jelly fish might give you a sting, but are not too dangerous....

But this year we appear to have Portuguese Man of War......which have very long tentacles and their stings can be lethal to children, elderly and swimmers who might have heart or respiratory problems.......
This has caused he authorities to close the beaches to swimmers.
This morning I photographed 3 warning yellow jelly fish flags flying on the Albir beach, the red flag was flying on the Altea beach.....just further along the Bay.

Warm water, overfishing and especially the reduction of turtles, the natural predators of jelly fish has lead to this situation. The Portuguese Man of War don’t swim, they are propelled by wind and currents.....they seem to have been swept into the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar