Following days of high temperatures and southerly winds, vast armadas of jellyfish have been repeatedly attacking the coast of Penghu Island. There have been a succession of reports of swimmers being stung, however all were isolated cases and there were no reports of large groups of injured being taken to hospital. Since there are many different species of jellyfish whose poison varies from mild to highly toxic, local authorities are urging the public to take extra care when swimming in the sea.
According to the Penghu Marine Biology Research Center, an influx of jellyfish can occur following a period of extremely hot weather which causes the temperature of the water to rise. The addition of a strong southerly wind will sweep jellyfish toward coastal areas which is the reason for successive waves of jellyfish appearing in the thousands, such as Papuan jellyfish — also called spotted jelly — at Baishawa Cove and “coin jellyfish” in the Magongshi area. Densely packed shoals of jellyfish can be seen blanketing the waters at any of Penghu’s harbors and beaches, however as for the potency of their venom, the Portuguese man o’ war, for example, is highly poisonous. Last year, an extremely poisonous box jellyfish was discovered in the Wukan marine area whose sting can be fatal to humans.
(Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones)
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者劉禹慶
過去幾日來都吹南風，且氣溫居高不下，澎湖沿岸屢傳水母大軍壓境，並有泳客遭螫傷，但都為零星個案，並無集體送醫情事。水母因種類不同，毒性也有強弱之分，有關單位呼籲民眾下水時還是需要小心提防。
澎湖海洋生物研究中心表示，澎湖水母大爆發可能因近來氣候炎熱，海水溫度升高，加上南風強烈，將外海水母吹到沿岸，所以才會連續在白沙瓦硐港發現數以千計的珍珠水母、馬公嵵裡錢幣水母等，港區及沙灘都處處可見。不過這兩種水母毒性較弱，若是僧帽水母則毒性較強，而去年在烏崁海域更曾發現毒性十分強的立方水母，能螫人成傷，甚至致死。
(自由時報記者劉禹慶)
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