The Spot the Jellyfish citizen science campaign seaside boards are up along beaches for the sixth consecutive summer. This year, more than ever, as explained by coordinator Alan Deidun, the initiative is being bolstered through a close collaboration with the Med-Jellyrisk project, an EU-funded project with which the University of Malta is a partner.

Through such a collaboration, a 48-page A5 manual featuring almost 30 different species of jellyfish species occurring in local waters, along with a manual with medical advice on the treatment of jellyfish stings and a factsheet on the same critters, were printed and disseminated to all beach lifeguard outposts and diving clubs. The same publications are also available for free download from the Med-Jellyrisk website ( http://jellyrisk.eu/en/downloads/ ).

Through this collaboration, a net to keep out jellyfish has this week been installed in Pretty Bay, Birżebbuġa, in the first official trial of its kind in Malta.

This year, one can also send jellyfish sighting reports to the Spot the Jellyfish via the Med-Jelly smartphone app, available both for Android and for iOS platforms, besides through the conventional channels (www.ioikids.net/jellyfish or by sending an e-mail to alan.deidun@gmail.com).

The collection of jellyfish presence data over a long period of time (at least 10 years) is crucial to enable marine biologists to identify any trends in the presence of such species and to possible draw any relations between this and environmental data. Hence, jellyfish reports need to keep coming, says Deidun.