Wibble wobble, barrel jellies hit the south west!

Bustling south west waters are teeming with spring visitors

Reports of barrel jellyfish are flooding in to our National Jellyfish Survey, as well as over 100 reports of basking sharks so far.

"Barrel jellyfish sighting have been unusually high in the area,” says MCS Biodiversity Programme Manager and jellyfish expert, Dr Peter Richardson. “We’ve also had reports of shoals of basking shark and just last week a live leatherback turtle was seen from the Scillonian ferry just off Porthcurno."

Leatherbacks migrate to UK seas in search of the jellyfish who arrive here as our waters warm up.

Dr Richardson says all the indications are that the seas around Devon, Cornwall and Dorset are the place to be to spot marine wildlife at the moment and show that UK waters hold a real attraction for many iconic species.

Sea Champion Natasha Ewins (below) has been reporting her jellyfish sightings: "Whilst on holiday with my family, we were busy writing messages in the sand when we suddenly spotted a jellyfish. It was huge! About the size of a dustbin lid. I haven't seen any that big since I was a little girl. I wasn't sure which species it was, so I pulled up the MCS Jellyfish Guide on my phone, and reported it when I got back home."

We're urging the public to report any sightings of basking sharks, jellyfish or turtles to www.mcsuk.org or via our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thank you Sea Champions for your wildlife reports so far!

Sea Champion Natasha Ewins spots a barrel jellyfish!