The arrival of the first Portuguese man‑of‑war (Physalia physalis) to the Canary Islands marks the launch of the 2026 campaign of the PHYSALIA project, a collaboration involving ULPGC, the University of Oviedo, ICMAN‑CSIC and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO).
The research team has started monitoring activities in several locations across Gran Canaria, conducting direct observations, drone flights and oceanographic data collection. This information will help refine predictive models for the species’ arrival to the coast, a recurrent phenomenon in the archipelago with scientific and social relevance.
