Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
In short:
Bluebottles up to three times the usual size are washing ashore on the Gold Coast.
asserted
Bluebottles → wash → Coast
Scientists say little is known about the larger species' venom potency.
asserted
little → say → potency
Lifeguards have reported relatively few stings: 20 across 39 patrolled beaches during the school holidays.
asserted
Lifeguards → report → holidays
Bluebottles up to three times larger than those typically seen in Queensland waters are washing ashore on the Gold Coast, but scientists say little is known about the potency of their venom.
asserted
little → see → venom
Griffith University marine ecologist Kylie Pitt said Physalia megalista was one of the biggest of five bluebottle species found in Australian waters.
asserted
megalista → say → waters
"It doesn't turn up on the Gold Coast beaches all that often.
asserted
It → turn → beaches
They're usually further south," she said.
asserted
she → say → ?
"But we don't have a lot of data about when and where they turn up."
Professor Pitt estimated the species' float or sail, which sits on the water's surface, was about 10 centimetres in length, while its stinger could stretch several metres.
uncertain
stinger → have → metres
"It is quite likely that the different species have got slightly different venom," she said.
"
asserted
she → get → venom
In terms of the way people react, it is dependent on the dose they get and the dose depends on the amount of tentacle that's attached to the skin."
asserted
that → react → skin
School holiday stingers
Gold Coast City Council lifeguard supervisor Scott Franzmann said despite the busy school holidays, the impact had been relatively minor, with 20 stings reported across 39 patrolled beaches.
asserted
stings → say → beaches
"It's a little bit early for bluebottles at this stage," he said.
asserted
he → say → stage
"We don't get them until about December, January, around that Christmas period."
asserted
We → get → period
Gold Coast resident Tera Jesperson said she saw bluebottles the size of a fist "all over the shoreline".
asserted
she → say → shoreline
"It's quite scary because our dog was going up and sniffing them," she said.
asserted
she → go → them
"I don't want to be stung — I never have and never want to be."
What to do with a sting?
asserted
I → want → sting
The Australian Marine Stinger Advisory Service describes bluebottle stings as "instant and sharp" but not life-threatening.
asserted
Service → describe → stings
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recommends removing any tentacles off the skin with gloves or tweezers before washing the sting with seawater.
asserted
College → recommend → seawater
Professor Pitt said researchers only concluded last year that five different bluebottle species existed, with the survival of larger stingers potentially assisted by warmer El Niño conditions this season.
asserted
survival → say → conditions
"The sail of the bluebottle can be offset either to the left or the right of the body's axis," she said.
asserted
she → offset → axis
"It's like having a yacht sailing on two different tacks — you'll get some more commonly deposited on beaches under north-easterlies or some more commonly deposited under north-westerlies."
asserted
some → have → westerlies
Gold Coast resident Mark Wallace said he had seen similar large bluebottles further south when he was a beach inspector at Manly, Sydney.
asserted
he → say → Manly
"We could always tell when they'd come in because you'd hear a scream," he said.
uncertain
he → tell → scream
"I don't know what the phenomenon is, but there must be something."
asserted
phenomenon → know → ?
The Aporia