This venomous fish is mostly found in tropical and subtropical seas, but has now made its way all the way to the coast of Ireland, it seems.
There is a heatwave coming our way towards the end of this week, and up and down the land, thousands of families will be heading to their local beaches to cool off and celebrate the fact that the school holidays have finally arrived.
However, beach-goers in Waterford are now being warned about the presence of a particular type of venomous fish that have been spotted in the area, with Waterford City and County Council now saying they have placed a red flag along the beach and asked people ‘to avoid the water.’
Jellyfish-like venomous fish
The sea creature in question is the Portuguese Man-of-War, a jellyfish-like sea animal that are a species of siphonophore, meaning they are not technically a jellyfish, they just look like them as they are rather closely related.
The venomous fish were spotted off the popular area of Ardmore Beach by lifeguards on duty over the weekend, who alerted the Coast Guard and the City and County Councils of Waterford.
How to spot the Portuguese Man-of-War
According to Wildlifetrust.org, the Portugese Men-of-War is not just one animal, but rather a creature made up of small individual animals called zooids who can’t live separately and function together as one ‘animal.’
The creatures lives at the surface of the open ocean, and held afloat by a purple, gas-filled bladder, which acts as a sail. The Portuguese Men-of-War can’t swim and are at the mercy of the winds – which is why they often end up washed ashore after big storms.
They can grow to an average of 10 metres and may extend by as much as 30 metres. The reason they are so dangerous is that the tentacles contain stinging microscopic capsules that deliver venom capable of paralysing and killing small fish and crustaceans.
However, while the sting is rarely lethal to humans, being stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War can hurt badly, and cause welts on exposed skin.
So if you see one, don’t touch – even if it appears dead. The long blueish-violet tentacles can sting you badly, even after stranding and long after the animal has died.
It is also worth nothing that once they have been washed ashore, the Portugese Men-of-War lose their colour quickly can appear translucent with just a tinge of purple – but they remain just as dangerous as when you come across them in the sea, so stay well away, expert warn.
While it is unusual for Men-of-War to end up as far north as Ireland, as, according to the US National Ocean Service, they tend to live mostly in tropical and subtropical seas, recent changes in weather and warmer climate have made them more common both here and along the UK coastline too.
