The first purple jellyfish of the year, the Pelagia noctilica, has already arrived in Greece’s seas in the first months of 2023.
The purple jellyfish remain for another year in Greece and there are already recorded reports in recent weeks.
This year, that most records have been reported so far from the island of Corfu, in the northern Ionian Sea.
According to JellyReport by inaturalist.org and the biodiversitywatchgreece.org, the situation will be better than last year.
Purple jellyfish in 2022 -reports here on KTG
In 2023, the North Aegean Sea is expected to be clean, with some isolated appearances of purple jellyfish, while in some areas of Attica, things may be more unfavorable.
In the Cyclades we may have some isolated appearances of purple jellyfish, while in Crete – perhaps in the west – we may see more purple jellyfish, as in the southern Peloponnese. As for the Ionian Sea, it is estimates that the situation will be at the same levels as in 2022.
However, as JellyReport stresses, everything will depend on the weather and sea currents.
Purple jellyfish in Corfu
Purple jellyfish in first months of 2023
Many areas of the Ionian in the winter of 2022-2023 reported sightings of purple jelly fish, but there were no reports of juvenile purple jelly fish in these records.
In mid-April (and specifically on April 19, 2023), there was also the first report of many young purple jellyfish in Corfu.
Since purple jelly fish in their final stage of development have a lifespan of up to 9 months, this means that this summer some areas of the Ionian Sea will have to deal with purple jellyfish.
It has never been seen in the literature for purple jellyfish to disappear in the 2nd year and we don’t think there will be any exception this time, notes the JellyReport. It adds, that on the contrary we see a big difference in the 3rd year and in the 4th year they disappear, making them reappear at least after 5 years or in some cases 10 to 12 years later.\
What to do if you are stung by a purple jellyfish
Remove any tentacles stuck to your body. But not with bare hands, because this will lead to the tentacles sticking to the hands and transferring the irritation there.
Flush the bite area with plenty of sea water. If there is no better way, fill your fist with sand and rub the part of the body where the stingray’s tentacles are attached.
Do not use fresh water as it can activate stingers left on the skin.
Apply ice or cold compresses to the bite site. This limits local effects from the skin.
