17 beaches have been closed for swim, because of the appearance of the Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis), at the Chilean coasts. Among them, 11 beaches at the Valparaiso Region and other six in O´Higgins.
The authorities stated that is prohibited to go into the Sea, where the restriction has been decreed, and are warning to avoid touching the “jellyfish” because are toxic alive and dead.
The beaches are daily monitored.
According to Wikipedia, The Portuguese man o’ war is not a common jellyfish but a siphonophore, which is distinguished from jellyfish in that it is not a single multicellular organism, but a colony of specialized minute individual organisms called zooids.
The closed beaches
Valparaiso Region
· Playa Amarilla en Concón
· Playa Grande de Cartagena
· Costa Azul de Cartagena
· Principal de El Quisco
· Punta de Tralca de El Quisco
· Marbella Norte de Santo Domingo
· Marbella Sur de Santo Domingo
· Piedra Negras de El Tabo
· Chépica A de El Tabo
· Chépica B de El Tabo
· all the areas of Reñaca
O’Higgins Region
· Principal de Pichilemu
· Punta de Lobos
· Hermosa
· La Caletilla
· La Puntilla
· Boca de Navidad
