An exotic shrimp was found in the water not far from the Frisian town of Franeker. The animal, also known by its official name chelicorophium maeoticum, swam around in the Van Harinxma Canal. That is roughly 3000 kilometers from where it belongs: the Black Sea.
It is a mystery to Wetterskip Fryslân how the animal ended up in Fryslân. It may have traveled via a ship, reports Omrop Fryslân.
The shrimp was fished almost a year ago. The water board conducts extensive research into water quality every spring. Hydrobiological analysts go out with a scoop net. They take water samples and look for small invertebrates. A little later they determine under the microscope what they have found.
To their surprise, the analysts also found the special shrimp. Because they wanted to be sure, a DNA test was also done. This shows that it is really about the chelicorophium maeoticum is going.
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