An innovative smartphone application, giving users up-to-date information on the risk of jellyfish occurrence on same beaches, was recently launched. The app provides information on sting treatment for most jellyfish species in Maltese waters, weather forecasts and information on beach facilities in the Maltese islands. It will shortly be available for download on the Android and iPhone platforms.

The app was launched by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and the International Ocean Institute-Malta Operational Centre (IOI-MOC) at the University. It was developed by IOI-MOC staff and Alert Communications as part of the Med-Jellyrisk project. It draws on the support from the Spot the Jellyfish campaign (www.ioikids.net/jellyfish), which has now been running for five years.

Another by-product of the Med-Jellyrisk project is waterproof booklet with detailed sting treatment information for different jellyfish species, which will be distributed locally on all beaches throughout summer.

A jellyfish photography competition is also being launched. Participants are to submit photos of individual jellyfish or of blooms either via their smart phones (after downloading the Med-Jelly application) or by using an underwater camera.

Prizes will be awarded to the best two submissions in each category and the best 12 photos will be featured in a 2015 calendar to be printed later this year. For more details on submission rules and deadlines, visit the project website.

A short animation on the smart phone application may be downloaded from the link below:

http://we.tl/nHfnvvD6WU

http://jellyrisk.eu