Portuguese man o’war spotted on British coastline

Portuguese man o’war jellyfish have been spotted along the UK coastline. The creature grows to an average of 30 feet and may extend by as much as 100 feet.The Portuguese man o’war does not tend to occur in UK waters.Typically, they drift into the open ocean.An up tick in sightings suggests the trend might have changed – this year, at least.Changing climates could have something to do with the alteration, according to one scientist. Portuguese man o’war, which can inflict painful wounds, spotted on British coastline. (Image: Getty – stock)Members of the public reported a total of 1,315 jellyfish sightings to the Marine Conservation Society for its latest annual review.This included a two percent increase in the man o’war.The creature is capable of causing whip-like sounds from its strings.It is also able to inflict painful wounds.READ MORE: Biden working to boot ‘unfit’ Iran from UN women’s rights bodyA spokeswoman from the Conservation Charity said: ‘Storms in October 2021 and February 2022 led to an increase in Portuguese man o’war sightings, which were up by two percent from the previous year.”Although they have a bad reputation, these jellyfish-like creatures don’t normally occur in UK waters, preferring instead to drift in the open ocean.”Sightings of these unusual visitors were primarily along the south-west coast and the west coast of Scotland, with westerly winds carrying them across the Atlantic to our shores.DON’T MISS: Hated Brexit deal ‘could shatter UK’ [OPINION] Farage blasts those blaming conflict in Ukraine for inflation [NEWS] Britons blast Tories and Labour who are ‘as bad as each other’ [OPINION] Portuguese man o’war. (Image: Getty – stock)”Sometimes stranding at the same time was the violet sea snail, which floats on the surface in bubble rafts, feeding on Portuguese man o’wars.”The group usually records eight jellyfish species in its annual review, but this year found 11.The spokeswoman added: ‘The charity saw an increase in ‘other’ species reported, up from five percent to nine percent this year.’Commenting on the apparent changing trend, Amy Pilsbury, the charity’s Citizen Science Project lead, said: “We use these sightings, alongside scientists, to spot trends in the distribution of jellyfish and marine turtles around the UK.”Investigating the relationships between species can help us to discover more about our amazing underwater world and how it might be changing in response to things like climate change.”