INHR has warned against the Physalia physalis jellyfish, which have come in large numbers to Morocco’s Atlantic coasts.
Rabat – A horde of Atlantic Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish, the Physalia physalis species, showed up near Moroccan beaches over the weekend.
Four people received stings by man o’ wars, according to Moroccan newspaper Almassae. The man o’ wars’ venomous tentacles are capable of killing fish and, in extreme cases, humans.
The newspaper reported that Portuguese man o’ wars have appeared on the beaches of Al Hawziya, near El Jadida; Souiria, near Safi; and in Essaouira.
The violet jellyfish, which have reportedly been swept into the Moroccan waters by the wind, have been reported on Moroccan beaches for several years now, though they particularly emerge in the months of March and April.
The National Fisheries Research Institute (INRH) in Laayoune, a city in Western Sahara, has issued a communique warning people against the invasion of jellyfish along the coasts of Laayoune and Casablanca.