Off the coast of Zeeland (part of the Netherlands), a shrimp species has been discovered that has never before been seen in Dutch waters. Researchers found an orange pistol shrimp at a wind farm in the North Sea.
The location is part of a nature enhancement project primarily focused on the development of oysters. To support this, so-called oyster tables are placed at the base of wind turbines. Over time, these tables become covered with various species. Occasionally, some of this growth is scraped off for research, and it was in this scraping that the orange pistol shrimp was recently found.
Originally, the species is found in the western and central parts of the English Channel. The orange pistol shrimp is thus moving northward. Like many other crustacean species, its habitat is shifting due to climate change, researchers say.
The orange pistol shrimp was previously found in the North Sea only once before. That was in 2007 in English waters at the mouth of the River Thames. This is the first time it has been discovered in Dutch waters.
The orange, lobster-like creature grows to 3.5 centimeters in length. As with all pistol shrimps, one claw is much larger than the other. With a quick movement of this large claw – one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom – they can produce a popping sound that can be heard a kilometer away. This is how the pistol shrimp gets its name.
The creature prefers to live on the stones near a wind turbine. With the arrival of new wind farms, more suitable habitats are becoming available for such animals. Researchers suspect that there is already a population of the orange pistol shrimp off the coast of Zeeland, as the animal has now been found in a very small area.
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Daan van Dijken
Ten years ago, I started setting up a freshwater aquarium. Since then, I always have been fascinated by the underwater world. Together with my wife, we have been fortunate to discover this on many beautiful journeys and explored the magnificent underwater world through diving. In 2023, we have started a 60-liter saltwater aquarium. Soon, we realized that we wanted to further expand our saltwater aquarium hobby, so we switched to a Red Sea Peninsula 650. It's a fantastic aquarium that brings daily joy to me, my wife, and our daughter. I enjoy keeping up with the latest developments in the saltwater world and love exploring how to make my tank even smarter and easier to maintain. As a newcome, I would like to share all my experiences in setting up a saltwater aquarium with you!
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Stefan van Beek
Salt has always run in my blood. From birth, aquariums surrounded me, first at my grandfather's and later at my parents’ place. Now, at the age of 30, I've been able to set up my dream tank, a 160x70x70 peninsula. Corals hold the second spot for me; fish and the entire ecosystem are the reasons I have an aquarium. Nearly a decade ago, I started with my first aquarium, making plenty of mistakes and learning a great deal from them. Since 2021, I've been working at Ocean&Lake in the Netherlands, where I am now fully responsible for the saltwater department.