These tiny creatures are very small in size, pink and nasty. It is a plant-like midget from the animal kingdom that has turned into an expensive neighbour for Norwegian fish farmers. Biologist Jana Günther informed that from the sea emerges a piece of greyish net – a sample of coarse netting of a sort often used in the “fences” that hold in the farmed salmon. From its meshes appears a forest of thin white threads that appear to end in pink pinheads.
Günther explains that these are living creatures, ten years ago, they were not particularly interested in settling down at fish farms in Norwegian waters. She further said that cultures of these little creatures are now growing rapidly on seacage netting along much of the coast of Norway, and that this type of fouling has left the aquaculture industry with an expensive cleaning task.
Gunther also told that these tiny creatures have shown that if the nets are not cleaned often enough, they can cause serious problems in the course of a short time. She added that in just a few weeks they can form carpets that almost choke the meshes and thus lower the water quality for the farmed fish.
Jana Günther continued that cultures of these small animals grew slowly and to only a limited extent on fish-farm nets in Norway until the mid-nineties. Before then, individuals that settled down on such sites often grew side by side with mussels. Today, the hydroids grow rapidly on nets, and often as the sole species, say Gunther. It is said that these hydroids are a serious problem for this industry, and it is costing us a lot of money to get rid of them.
