A number of relatively harmless cigar jellyfish have been spotted in Maltese bays and harbours as the tiny mauve stingers have subsided, according to the local jellyfish watch.

The Spot the Jellyfish campaign, run by biologist Alan Deidun, received a number of reports about the cigar jellyfish mainly in Għadira bay.

A species of hydromedusa found in temperate Atlantic waters and the Mediterranean, it inflicts a very mild sting that is not always noticed by bathers.

In fact, it is considered a largely innocuous species, Dr Deidun said in a statement.

It is armed with a battery of relatively short tentacles and its radial canals are arranged in a distinctive red cross-like pattern.

Another species – the fried egg jellyfish, which also has a weak sting – is expected to make its return to local waters in the coming weeks.

The Spot the Jellyfish initiative is coordinated by staff at the International Ocean Institute – Malta Operational Centre at the University of Malta. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority, Nature Trust, Friends of the Earth, Sharklab Malta, Ekoskola and Blue Flag Malta programmes.

The initiative follows a citizen science approach and relies on the collaboration of the public, sea farers, divers and young people through their teachers and parents who are encouraged to assist in recording the presence and location of different jellyfish through a reporting leaflet.

The leaflet can be downloaded from www.ioikids.net/jellyfish, which also contains snippets of information and anecdotes about different species.

Sightings can be reported online or by sending a text message to 7960 4109 or 7922 2278, or by e-mailing ioi-moc@um.edu.mt.

Jellyfish that are not included on the leaflet should be caught and kept in a bucketful of seawater.

A picture should be sent to Dr Deidun at alan.deidun@um.edu.mt.

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