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The Japanese Sea Exchange is the first mission in Norway. It makes investigators sound the alarm.
OSLO (Nettavisen): The Institute for Marine Research claims that an exotic species of sea urchin, native to Japan, has cut for the first time on the beach in Stavanger. This is a matter of great concern, and now researchers are investigating whether this species (Didemnum vexillum) can be found in various places in the country.
– It’s like a plague, says Vivian Husa, an alien species expert at the Bergen Institute for Marine Research.
Start an important mapping
– We are starting a poll this Christmas, she says.
– If we only find it in a few localities, the Norwegian Environment Agency should consider whether we should try to dispose of it with poison, but otherwise there is little to do. It was actually only a matter of time before this showed up, he tells Nettavisen, and points out the large vessels and alien species that can hitchhike in the vegetation on ships.
There are several types of sea urchins along the coast of Norway, and these are useful animals and an important part of our fauna. Sea urchins purify water, but this Japanese type, which has yet to be given a Norwegian name, grows so fast and spreads so fast that it threatens other species.
Sea urchins are often useful animals along the coast of Norway, for example this little case shown by marine biologist Pia Ve Dahlen – watch video:
It can be devastating for mussel farmers
– It can cause great harm and we believe it can have an economic effect for mussel producers and for the aquaculture industry in general, says Husa.
– If it starts growing on mussels, they don’t get enough nutrients, she says
It was the diver and photographer Erling Svensen who found the species Didemnum vexillum at Engøyholmen in Stavanger. Here it covered a large area seven to twenty meters deep, including a rock wall that is about to take over, according to Svensen.
The species quickly forms huge colonies and has it completely covered by other species, writes the Institute for Marine Research on its website.
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