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– The sea urchin covers a large area seven to twenty meters deep, including a beautiful rock wall that is about to take over, says diver and photographer Erling Svensen, who encountered the sea urchin at Engøyholmen , not far from the Stavanger Diving Club.
The species quickly forms large colonies and has it completely covered by other species, reports the Institute for Marine Research.
– It has great invasion potential
Imagine a pancake that you throw on the ground. It looks a bit like that, says Svensen.
It is widespread in the Netherlands, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom and probably originated in Japan. The species may have arrived in Stavanger recently.
– This Japanese sea urchin has great invasion potential and a great effect on the environment, explains marine scientist Vivian Husa.
– We hope it can create problems
He leads the project for mapping exotic species in the sea.
– The species has spread like wildfire throughout much of the world in recent years. We hope it can create problems for mussel growers by covering mussels, and on fish farms by farming in nets. she says.
He is not surprised that the sea urchin has now been confirmed in Norwegian waters.
– The port of Stavanger has a lot of ship traffic. Like many other exotic species, it has probably hitchhiked here growing on ship hulls, the researcher says.
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