Portuguese Man O' War Wash Up On North Florida Beaches
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| Portuguese Man O' War wash up on St. Johns County beaches. Credit;St. Johns County Marine Rescue |
JACKSONVILLE, Florida- Portuguese Man O' War are washing up on beaches in Duval and St. Johns counties.
"We are starting to see Sargassum weed and Portuguese Man-o-war wash up on SJC beaches. Marine Rescue will continue to monitor and if higher numbers wash up we will fly purple flag," St. Johns County Marine Rescue stated on Facebook.
Portuguese Man-of-War aren’t jellyfish but a colony of small organisms called Siphonophorae.
The Portuguese Man-of-War can be identified from other types of jellyfish in Florida by its translucent blue, pink, green or purple gas-filled air sac which helps the sea creature travel long distances across the ocean by acting as a wind-driven sail.
A violet-colored stinging tentacle cluster mass underneath the Portuguese Man-of-War’s air sac can have tentacles that extend up to thirty feet long
"Contact with the nematocysts (stinging cells ) can lead to a very painful sting. Stinging cells can still be active even when they are found dried up on the beach. If stung you should remove the tentacles and cleanse area with dilute vinegar solution," St. Johns County Marine Rescue advised.
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