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As if there are not enough problems leading to dwindling numbers of tourist arrivals, the Malta Tourism Authority is facing yet another menace that has the potential of straying away more tourists from holidaying on our shores. The new and growing threat is jellyfish.
MTA sources have revealed that the increasing phenomenon of jellyfish invasions in the Mediterranean has prompted the commissioning of a preliminary report for a possible strategy for action.
The report, expected to be submitted within the next few weeks to Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech and to the MTA board, is intended to outline the possible scenarios of action, in order to control the jellyfish invasion around the Maltese coasts.
The report responds to the growing preoccupation within the tourism sector about the jellyfish, particularly after international media have begun to give prominence to the matter and label it as an “emergency”.
Speaking to MaltaToday, an MTA spokesman explained that this preliminary report is intended to define “immediate” and “long-term” strategies that could be adopted on a national level to curb the invasion.
“We are looking at a scenario that could have quite an impact on our resources, both human and financial,” the spokesman said, adding that from preliminary estimates government would possibly need to beef up its work force on popular beaches by around 20 per cent to be able to contain the problem.
The most plausible strategy to be indicated in the report would be to deploy beach cleaners on boats to scoop the swarms of jellyfish. Another strategy is to lay long lines of netting to keep the jellyfish away from the shores.
Contacted by MaltaToday, biologist Professor Victor Axiak explained that whatever measures are taken to control the jellyfish invasion, there will always remain doubts on their effectiveness.
Although Prof. Axiak is of the opinion that the jellyfish invasion in the Mediterranean is a natural cycle that seems to return every 12 years, “at least for the pink coloured species that are being identified around the Maltese coasts”, many experts are blaming global warming as the main factor for the invasion, particularly for the species identified around the Spanish, Italian and Greek coasts.
Experts maintain that the Mediterranean’s temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees, while years of uncontrolled fishing have depleted the dolphin and sea turtle populations that feed on the jellyfish.
According to a BBC report this week, some Spanish beaches have been closed, but Sicily and North Africa have also been badly affected. Researchers say at least 30,000 people have been stung since summer began.
A recent survey by the Oceana environmental group found concentrations of jellyfish of more than 10 per square metre in some areas off the Spanish coast.
ksnavarra@mediatoday.com.mt
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