In July 2002 the author collected a strange venerid in the Vendée (France). It turned out to be Austrovenus stutchburii, a species endemic for New Zealand and up to now commercially not bred and harvested in Europe. Hundreds of fresh dead specimens were on oyster rubbish piles in Le Port du Bec. Whether the species already occurs outside the oysterbasins is not known and needs to be followed.