Following days of high temperatures and southerly winds, vast armadas of jellyfish have been repeatedly attacking the coast of Penghu Island. 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.

Source: Taipei Times July 17, 2017 16:07 UTC