A first documentary focusing on the mysterious world of jellyfish and other gelatinous creatures in Maltese waters is being transmitted on local tv stations from January 2016 onwards.  

Jellyfish Blooming, reveals experiences of local researchers, fishermen, divers, tourists and swimmers side by side with sharing growing knowledge on blooming jellyfish species and how to mitigate for such blooms.   This 20 minute educational documentary was produced by the Department of Biology, University of Malta as part of its contribution to the ENPI MED-JELLYRISK EU project.   

This documentary transports the viewer into the marine world of these interesting and often misunderstood gelatinous creatures.  While some species are venomous stingers and need to be identified promptly and treated in the best manner possible, most other species are not dangerous to humans and play important roles in the marine ecosystem. This documentary produced in both Maltese and English unravels useful information on how the MED-JELLYRISK project has provided information aids for better first-aid treatments and awareness to better mitigate for jellyfish blooming.  

The director of this documentary is Adriana Vella, conservation biologist and senior academic at the Department of Biology, University of Malta, who has directed other original educational documentaries on biodiversity, such as the award winning "ECOMalta" in 2002 and "Waves of Life" in 2008.   She is the CIESM JellyWatch programme national contact person for Malta since 2010, and has been leading field research around the Maltese islands, including a study on the blooming distribution of different gelatinous species as part of the MED-JELLYRISK project.  Her research team has also worked with local stakeholders, such as fishermen, to better deal with blooms of jellyfish in the future.

MED-JELLYRISK is a 3-year-long project, funded under the framework of the ENPI-CBC MED framework, which involved the participation of partners, from four countries (Italy, Tunisia, Spain and Malta), including the University of Malta, represented by the Physical Oceanography Research Group and by the Department of Biology. 

For further information contact Adriana Vella, Conservation Biology Research Group, Department of Biology, University of Malta on: [email protected]