BRITS enjoying a staycation holiday have been given a warning about huge stinging jellyfish the “size of dustbin lids” after they washed up on some UK beaches.
The discovery at the Welsh seaside village of Fairbourne, Gwynedd, is the latest in a series of giant jellyfish beachings in the county.
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A huge jellyfish, estimated at one metre across, was brought in by the tide to the mouth of the Mawddach estuary across the water from Barmouth.
It’s thought that the jellyfish was attracted inshore by the “fishy” algal blooms that have been reported along the coasts of Gwynedd and Ceredigion.
In May, another giant jellyfish was found on the beach at Aberdyfl.
Dozens of smaller one have been washed up along the Welsh coastline, with jellyfish season firmly underway.
A social media post of the Fairbourne “monster” got commentators chatting.
One woman said: “Jeeeeeeze, size of that bad boy!!!!”
A man simply wrote: “Jesus Christ!”
Another person added: “My God, that’s huge!”
While a fourth opined: “Oh my God, imagine if the kids saw that!”
Across the estuary from Fairbourne is Barmouth, a popular tourist resort which attracts Brits from all over the country, particularly the Midlands.
The sighting though has given some cause for concern.
One woman warned: “Don’t be dipping your toes in when u go.”
While another added: “Oh my goodness!!! Nooooooo, that’s me even more nervous.”
Periodically, seaside towns do get invaded by jellyfish although most are small and rarely cause any problems.
The one washed up at Fairbourne was a barrel jellyfish, which are common in the Irish Sea.
They can grow up to 40cm in diameter, around the size of a dustbin lid which has given rise to their other name, dustbin-lid jellyfish.
The jellyfish have eight frilly arms which have small stinging tentacles and hundreds of little mouths.
While the sting of the barrel jellyfish is not normally harmful to humans the advice from the Wildlife Trusts is not to handle it if found on the beach as they can still sting when dead.
In deeper waters they can grow up to 150cm, making them the largest jellyfish in UK waters.
During May and June they move to warmer coastal waters in order to feed on plankton.
They then can often wash up on beaches having underestimated tides and wave strengths.
The presence of the jellyfish in turn attracts predators such as the leatherback turtles, the world’s largest sea turtle.
Occasionally, the turtles have also been known to wash up on the west Wales coast.
In September 1988, the world’s largest leatherback washed up at Harlech, Gwynedd.
A local farmer found it who said it was “bigger than a cow and the shape of a VW beetle car”.
It weighed 914 kilos (2,016lb) and is now on display at the National Museum Cardiff.
After Fairbourne’s super-sized visitor was found, some people wondered how beach cleaners might get rid of it.
“Need a bigger boat,” said a woman, in a reference to Steven Spielberg’s Jaws catch-line.
The jellyfish is thought to have vanished on the next high tide.
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