Men-of-War on Beaches Here
Among the many visitors to the South Fork this summer is a dangerous multicellular organism making an appearance along the shore.
The Portuguese man-of-war, a highly toxic warm-water creature that resembles and acts like a jellyfish, has been spotted over the past few weeks on Gibson Beach in Sagaponack, Georgica Beach in East Hampton Village, Indian Wells and Atlantic Avenue Beaches in Amagansett, and South Edison and Ditch Plain Beaches in Montauk.
“We’ve seen a few of them, not a whole lot,” said John Ryan, the chief of the East Hampton lifeguards. After a storm two weeks ago today, they began popping up thanks to a northeast wind that brought warm water from the Gulf Stream closer to shore, he said.
Portuguese men-of-war have arrived in much larger numbers in New Jersey, and have also been seen in western Suffolk County and around Fire Island this summer. The last time they were seen on the South Fork was two years ago.
With a floating body, it is their long tentacles attached to their undercarriage that have microscopic barbed stinging cells that pack a painful punch when they penetrate human skin. Several people have photographed the beached creatures, but there have been no reports of stings at protected beaches, according to Mr. Ryan and Christopher F. Bean, the superintendent of parks and recreation for Southampton Town.
Symptoms differ based on where a person is stung. The Suffolk County Regional Emergency Medical Service Council said in a bulletin last week that symptoms include pain at the sting site, abdominal pain, chest pain, changes in heart rate, headache, muscle pain or spasm, numbness and weakness, difficulty swallowing, runny nose and watery eyes, and collapse.
Information was posted for lifeguards in East Hampton so they would know how to help swimmers who are stung, Mr. Ryan said. He recommends pouring fresh water — warm or cold — on the site, and removing all tentacles, followed by heat or ice, depending on which feels better.
Mara Dias, the water quality manager with the Surfrider Foundation’s eastern Long Island chapter, said she was out collecting water samples from Georgica Pond and the ocean beach nearby when she saw some of the creatures. “These jellyfish are scary, but the bacteria levels we have been finding in some creeks and enclosed bay beaches in Montauk and East Hampton, especially after significant rainfall, are even scarier,” she said.