Rapana venosa (Gastropoda: Muricidae):a new invasive species in the North Sea

In July 2005 a living veined whelk Rapana venosa was caught by a fishing vessel off Scheveningen, The Netherlands. This record is the first for the North Sea and The Netherlands. In September, a second veined whelk ended up in the nets of an Eurokotter in the central southern North Sea (the wider Thames estuary) and in November a third one was caught off Scheveningen again. These records - together with reports of more specimens occasionally being fished - indicate that this ferocious invasive East Asian gastropod has established a (small) population in the North Sea. This paper describes the three records, discusses the ways Rapana may have reached the North Sea and the possible impact on the marine ecosystem and local aquacultures of bivalve shells.