Jellyfish take it out on Marbella bathers

ONE hundred and twenty-nine people have been stung by jellyfish off Marbella’s beaches in just one day.

Bathers reported seeing large numbers of jellyfish during the morning, especially on the city’s easternmost beaches, although lifeguards said the numbers fell in the afternoon.

Marbella’s Aula del Mar marine research centre biologist and coordinator Juan Jesus Martinez explained that jellyfish had been pushed towards the shore by easterly winds, stating: “They are very primitive creatures which have hardly evolved. They let themselves be carried by the currents.”

Martinez said the jellyfish, averaging seven centimetres in size, generally cause minor stings meaning they were not dangerous, although bathing is not recommended when there are lots in sight in the water.