Wordt Ensis directus in België groter dan in Nederland?

Since its introduction in Europe with ballast water around 1979, the American razor clam has been well studied. Its repeated mass mortalities even reached the popular press because of the stench these produced. It is now probably the most common bivalve in Dutch coastal waters. The shells of E. directus show annual growth rings. These can be used to estimate their age. Maximum age in the Dutch Wadden Sea seems to be 7 years, but from Belgium 10 year old specimens have been reported. The maximum length of specimens collected on the island of Texel (NL) is now up to 18.6 cm, whereas from Belgium 19.0 mm long specimens are recorded. According to the literature E. directus may attain a length of up to 10 inches (25.4 cm) in the US, where it comes from. We encourage Dutch shell collectors to look for and report on the largest and oldest specimens.