New man o' war alert
Beaches open but caution advised after new sightings
BATHERS were told not to enter the sea and to take extreme care on the beaches of Moraira on Monday, as Portuguese man o’ war were spotted in a nearby bay. A member of the public spotted an extremely dangerous specimen washed up on a rock on L’Ampolla beach. Another was seen on El Portet beach. The red flag was raised, and after a thorough search of the area, and a change of wind direction, a yellow warning flag replaced the no bathing signs on Wednesday morning, and the beaches, after being declared safe that afternoon, then displayed the normal green falgs.
In the meantime, and again on Wednesday, Benissa council sent out a warning that one had been discovered at Cala Pinets, near to La Fustera beach. Again, a search of the waters was undertaken, but no more were found.
Detached tentacles and dead specimens, including those that wash up on the shore, can sting just as painfully as live ones, and may remain potent for hours or even days after its death or the detachment of tentacles.
Stings usually cause severe pain to humans, leaving whiplike, red welts on the skin that normally last two or three days after the initial sting, though the pain should subside after about 1 to 3 hours.
However, the venom can travel to the lymph nodes and may cause symptoms that mimic an allergic reaction, including swelling of the throat, cardiac distress, and an inability to breathe. Other symptoms can include fever and shock, and in some extreme cases, death, although this is extremely rare.
Despite its appearance, the Portuguese man o' war is not a true jellyfish (they are single organisms) but a siphonophore, which is a colony of organisms made up of many individual specimens called zooids or polyps. The polyps are attached to one another and physiologically integrated, to the extent that they cannot survive independently, and therefore have to work together and function like an individual animal.
The police have asked that if anybody spots any on a beach or in the sea, to contact them urgently.