There is a tool available right now that lets you check whether jellyfish might arrive at your chosen beach before you pack your bag and head to the coast.

It tracks real sightings from real people, connects them to live weather and ocean drift data, and generates a probability forecast for the next five days. It sends instant alerts to your phone. It can be embedded by any local council, newspaper, or tourism website that wants to use it.

And it is completely free.

It is called the Pelagia Dashboard, and it is part of the Pelagia Logbook - a citizen science project now in its second year of monitoring Pelagia noctiluca, the Mauve Stinger jellyfish, across the coastlines of Greece.

🔗 https://pelagia.mermanconservation.co.uk/

More Than a Map.

At first glance, the Pelagia Dashboard looks like a simple database with a table and a map. Look closer, and it becomes something far more significant.

Every jellyfish bloom observation submitted by a citizen is logged individually, timestamped, and displayed on the map. But the system does not stop at recording where jellyfish have been. It uses real-time weather data and satellite-derived ocean drift information to model where those jellyfish are likely to go, projecting potential movement up to five days ahead.

For anyone planning a swim, a beach holiday, a coastal activity, or a diving session, this is genuinely transformative information.

What the Dashboard Can Do?

The Pelagia Dashboard offers a level of public functionality that, to our knowledge, no other jellyfish monitoring platform in the world currently matches:

• Individual observation browsing - every sighting is accessible and explorable on its own
• 5-day drift forecasting - based on weather and ocean current data, showing where jellyfish may move next
• Live beach-level probability - a same-day estimate of the likelihood of jellyfish presence at a specific beach or area
• Proximity alerts - showing how close the nearest recorded observation is to a user's chosen location
• Telegram bot alerts - instant notifications sent to subscribers the moment a new observation enters the database

These tools are not locked behind a subscription. They are not restricted to researchers or institutions. They are open to everyone.

Built for Communities, Not Just Scientists.

One of the most deliberate design choices behind the Pelagia Dashboard is the direction of information flow.

Most citizen science platforms are built around extraction: they ask the public to contribute observations, and the data flows upward to scientists, databases, and reports. The public rarely sees anything useful in return.

The Pelagia Logbook was built differently. The premise is simple: if people are generous enough to contribute their time and observations, they deserve to receive something genuinely useful back. The Dashboard returns that value immediately, in the form of forecasts, probabilities, alerts, and maps that help ordinary people make better decisions.

This matters especially in a country like Greece, where coastal tourism is a cornerstone of the economy, and where a jellyfish bloom can affect thousands of swimmers, beach operators, and local businesses in the space of a single day.

A Free Resource for Media, Municipalities, and Tourism.

The Pelagia Dashboard goes further still for organisations and institutions.

Newspapers, regional media outlets, municipal websites, tourism platforms, and local blogs can embed the dashboard, or filtered views of it, showing only the data relevant to a specific prefecture, coastline, or town, directly into their own platforms. For free.

This means a local authority in the Cyclades can display real-time jellyfish data for its own beaches. A travel website covering the Peloponnese can embed a live map filtered to that region. A regional newspaper can give its readers a tool they will actually return to, day after day, throughout the summer.

Why This Matters?

Pelagia noctiluca blooms are not a novelty. They affect swimmers, water sports operators, fishing communities, and coastal ecosystems. Their frequency and intensity are linked to broader patterns of sea temperature, seasonal variation, and environmental change. Understanding them is not merely a scientific interest; it has direct, practical consequences for millions of people every year.

The Pelagia Logbook is building a growing, georeferenced dataset of bloom events across Greece, one that improves in quality and coverage with every new observation. But crucially, it is not waiting until the dataset is complete before offering value. The Dashboard is live, functional, and useful today.

What Citizen Science Should Be!

The Pelagia Dashboard represents a model for how citizen science projects should operate: as a genuine exchange between the public and the scientific community, where contribution is met with usefulness, and where data serves people as much as it serves research.

If you are spending time on Greek beaches this summer, or if you know someone who is, the Pelagia Dashboard is worth bookmarking.

And if you run a local media outlet, a municipal website, or a tourism platform, it is worth getting in touch.

🔗 Explore the Pelagia Dashboard: https://pelagia.mermanconservation.co.uk/

The Pelagia Logbook is a project by Merman Conservation. The Dashboard is free and open to the public.

We have compiled a map of purple jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) records for August.

Most sightings, as expected, were concentrated in the North Evoikos Gulf and the Pagasitikos Gulf. These semi-enclosed gulfs tend to trap jellyfish populations, allowing them to remain for longer periods.

Although summer has ended for most, it is important to remember that a purple jellyfish outbreak can last up to four years. Monitoring continues throughout the winter, and next summer we are likely to see them again, potentially in new areas as well.
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If you spot jellyfish of any species, we encourage you to take photos and upload them to iNaturalist (preferred) or share them in the Facebook group.

Citizen science is an essential tool for monitoring and keeping the public informed!

🙏 Thank you to all citizen scientists and observers contributing to the effort. Every sighting counts!

#PelagiaNoctiluca #PurpleJellyfish #AegeanSea #JellyfishBloom #PelagiaLogbook #CitizenScience #MermanConservation

​The bloom of the Mauve Stinger jellyfish, Pelagia noctiluca, continues in the Aegean Sea. New observations have been added to the Pelagia Logbook, helping us understand the extent and movement of this natural phenomenon.

📍 See where sightings have been recorded
📊 Follow monthly updates
🔎 Learn how to identify and stay safe

➡️ Check the full update here:
https://www.mermanconservation.co.uk/pelagia-logbook-aegean-sea-2025.html

🙏 Thank you to all citizen scientists and observers contributing to the effort. Every sighting counts!

#PelagiaNoctiluca #PurpleJellyfish #AegeanSea #JellyfishBloom #PelagiaLogbook #CitizenScience #MermanConservation

At Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd., we're proud to present the Jellyfish Drift Predictor - a free AI-powered tool designed to help you estimate the drift patterns of the mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) based on your own observations.

This tool is available to everyone and aims to support public awareness, personal planning, and citizen science around jellyfish activity in the Aegean Sea.

How Does It Work?

Unlike a live data feed, the Jellyfish Drift Predictor does not collect or store community sightings automatically. Instead, you manually enter the following:

• The latitude and longitude where you saw jellyfish
• The estimated number of individuals (population)

Once you input this data, the system uses environmental behavior models and basic wind-driven drift estimations to provide a visual forecast of where the jellyfish may move in the coming days.

This makes the tool fully on-demand, private, and tailored to each sighting entered.

Why Pelagia noctiluca?

Pelagia noctiluca is the most commonly encountered jellyfish in Greek waters during the summer. While native to the Mediterranean, it can form large blooms that impact tourism and recreation, especially during August and September.
Understanding where these jellyfish may move next helps reduce surprise encounters and increases safety and awareness.

Important Disclaimer​

⚠️ Jellyfish Drift Predictor is for personal use and awareness only.
⚠️ Predictions are not always accurate, especially when winds or weather shift suddenly.
⚠️This tool does not track jellyfish in real time - it depends on your manual input to generate each forecast.

Always check with local authorities and beach notices when planning to enter the sea.

Try It Yourself

​To use the Jellyfish Drift Predictor, visit:
🌐 https://www.mermanconservation.co.uk/jellyfish-drift-predict-tool.html​

Simply enter your observation data and see an instant estimate of possible drift directions.

Our team at Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd. recorded a striking jellyfish bloom yesterday afternoon in the Pagasetic Gulf. In the waters just off Milina, more than 30 mauve stingers (Pelagia noctiluca) were observed gathering approximately 20 meters from the beach, while swimmers were still enjoying the sea.

This local observation appears to be part of a wider bloom event that is now expanding beyond the Pagasetic Gulf toward northern Evia and parts of the Sporades. The density and behavior of the jellyfish suggest that this bloom may continue to spread in the coming days.

The mauve stinger is a well-known species in the Mediterranean, recognizable for its translucent body with pink or purple markings and its bioluminescent glow. Although small, it can deliver a painful sting and occasionally forms dense swarms that impact both swimmers and fisheries.

We will continue to monitor the bloom and provide updates as its extent becomes clearer. Events like this remind us how dynamic and unpredictable marine ecosystems can be, especially during the warmer months.
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Stay informed and stay mindful when entering the sea.

We are thrilled to announce that the popular Greek android app "Μέδουσες στην Έλλαδα" (Jellyfish in Greece) has officially transitioned to Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd from BiodiversityGR. This marks a significant step forward in ensuring the app continues to deliver accurate and up-to-date information about jellyfish and similar marine species in Greece.

Why this matters?

The Jellyfish in Greece app has been a cornerstone for:

• Education: Helping the public identify jellyfish species and understand their role in marine ecosystems.
• Citizen Science: Empowering users to report jellyfish sightings, contributing valuable data to scientific research.
• Awareness: Providing insights into the potential risks of certain species and promoting safe practices at sea.

By transferring the app's management to Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd, we are ensuring its continued functionality and enhancement, aligning with our mission to promote marine conservation and education.

What’s new?

Under Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd, we aim to:

• Enhance features: Introduce new functionalities to improve user experience and engagement.
• Update information: Regularly update the app’s database with the latest scientific data on jellyfish and related species.
• Strengthen citizen science efforts: Provide tools for easier reporting and analysis of jellyfish sightings.
  
  

How you can help?

Your participation is vital to the success of this initiative. Here’s how you can contribute:

1. Download the App: If you haven’t already, download "Μέδουσες στην Έλλαδα" from the Google Play Store.
2. Report Sightings: Use the app to log jellyfish sightings in inaturalist and provide as much detail as possible.
3. Spread the Word: Share the app with friends and family to expand its reach and impact.

Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to BiodiversityGR and Taklis Christos for their efforts in developing and managing the app thus far. Their dedication has laid a strong foundation for us to build upon.

Together, let’s continue to explore, protect, and understand the incredible marine biodiversity of Greece. 
For more information about our projects and initiatives, visit Merman Conservation Expeditions Ltd.