Sea Gooseberries

We've been hearing a lot of recent reports of sightings of beautiful little things that look a bit like sweeties, which are actually called Sea Gooseberries. 

They have most likely ended up on the beaches due to recent strong winds. They tend to be in high abundance at this time of year in any case due to the increased amount of plankton (their main food source) in surface water in the spring and summer, when the days get longer and the sun is higher in the sky. There’s been a lot of sunshine in recent weeks which has probably increased this even more.

But what are they? Well, Dr Baxter from Cumbria Wildlife Trust tells us: they are jelly-like but they are not true jellyfish, so the good news is they don't sting. Sea Gooseberries are, however, voracious predators. They can eat up to 10 times their own body-weight a day. And they are happy to munch on each other. They grow up to about 2.5cm long. Although they have two long, feathery tentacles, they actually use a sticky substance to catch their prey.

You might want to put them back in the sea if you see them washed up.