Unearthing marine biodiversity through citizen science : the Spot the Jellyfish and the Spot the Alien Fish campaign case studies from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

Abstract

The Spot the Jellyfish citizen science campaign was launched in June 2010 by the Physical Oceanography Research Group at the University of Malta and the International Ocean Institute (IOI), with the support of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Blue Flag Malta and a number of environmental NGOs. The initial aim of the campaign was to educate the younger generations about jellyfish species occurring within Maltese waters, but the campaign was soon extended to the national scale, with the installation of seaside panels in over 30 embayments on the islands, the design of a downloadable A4 poster featuring the twelve most common jellyfish species and the development of a tailor-made website (www.ioikids.net/jellyfish) which allows the seamless recording of the salient attributes of jellyfish species sightings, including location, date, species and abundance.