The shores of Marsascala turned a sea of mauve on Saturday as swarms of jellyfish took over the area.

A similar 'invasion' was also witnessed by a reader in Gżira.

Alan Deidun, who coordinates the Spot the Jellyfish citizen science campaign, said the persistent easterly winds experienced by the Maltese islands in the past few weeks brought the bloom close to shore along vast swathes of the eastern coastline - from St Thomas Bay all the way up to Sliema.

The bloom, he said, consisted of just one species - the mauve stinger Pelagia noctiluca - which, in Maltese waters, normally bloomed in late May, early June.

Prof. Deidun said this year's bloom had been anticipated by a few weeks, possibly due to the onset of an anomalously dry and warm January, known to trigger the annual spawning/reproduction of the species, which normally happens in late winter.

Photo: Alan Deidun, coordinator Spot the Jellyfish campaign

Prof. Deidun said the species has become a mainstay of Mediterranean and east Atlantic waters since the early 1980s, when its first large blooms started to appear.

The bloom, reported as part of the Spot the Jellyfish campaign, is expected to last no more than a few weeks.

The campaign is run by the International Ocean Institute and supported by the Malta Tourism Authority.

The public is encouraged to keep supporting the campaign through the jellyfish sighting reports, which can be submitted on the campaign website, facebook page and also via email - alan.deidun@gmail.com .

Photo: Alan Deidun, coordinator Spot the Jellyfish campaign

Photo: Bernard Scicluna