Jellyfish prevail among lifeguard assistances at the Spanish Mediterranean beaches. Proposals for improving risk management

Abstract

Few studies have identified the risks in broad coastal areas. A retrospective descriptive study of lifeguard data for 2012 analysed the prevalence of assistance categories along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The trend in jellyfish stings was examined for 2004-2012. We obtained data form 908 beach lifeguard stations out of 1261 present in the study area. A total of 158377 injuries were reported for 2012. Jellyfish stings (58.1% of the injuries) were the main need for assistance, followed by wounds (14.7%), other marine animals stings (14.2%) and sunburn (3.7%). All sea life-related injuries accounted for 74.1% of the total injuries, followed by musculoskeletal injuries (16.6%) and sun related (4.4%). Among Other Activities, the highest numbers were for rescues at sea (7.9%) and lost child (5.2%). Fatalities for 2012 were 24. The number of jellyfish stings, increased from 2010 to 2012 a 50%. The results showed that Spanish Mediterranean beaches are safe with very low fatalities. Nevertheless, reducing risks needs reliable data on the safety issues