Portuguese man o' war sightings prompt beach warnings in Gijón, Spain

Lifeguards at Gijón’s San Lorenzo beach raised a yellow flag on Monday after the first Portuguese man o' war of the season was recovered the previous Sunday. Four additional specimens were observed that day – two on San Lorenzo, one at La Escalerona and one at El Arbeyal – leading to similar warnings on the latter two beaches. The jelly‑like organisms, which appear in the Cantabrian Sea during late July and August, have long, venomous tentacles; although in Asturian waters the tentacles are often broken and shorter, they remain dangerous and should not be touched.

The city is also launching a pilot experiment to test whether oil‑spill containment barriers can limit the arrival of Portuguese man o' wars. Fifteen metres of such barrier will be deployed in a harbour near the local aquarium, with live specimens introduced for observation. The project, coordinated by the University of Oviedo, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the aquarium and municipal authorities, aims to assess whether the barriers can trap both the floating floats and the stinging parts of the creatures.