Overview
- The Marine Conservation Society’s latest Wildlife Sightings Report logged 1,327 records across the UK and Ireland from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, including 310 barrel jellyfish, up 230% year on year.
- Moon jellyfish remained the most reported species with 316 sightings, alongside the highest share of large blooms since 2016.
- Reports of the Portuguese man o’ war fell by more than 80% to 46, a drop the society links to fewer Atlantic storms pushing them ashore.
- Turtle observations rose to 12 confirmed sightings, including nine leatherbacks with eight alive, mostly off the south‑west coast.
- Scientists suggest warmer seas and shifting currents may be influencing these changes, while emphasizing the citizen‑science basis of the data and advising the public not to touch washed‑up specimens.