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Mediterranean invasive species factsheet

Similar species Ecological impacts
The first two pairs of walking legs of the native This prawn competes with the native shrimp
shrimp Melicertus kerathurus have spines and Melicertus kerathurus for resources. Farmed prawns
transverse dark bands on the first four segments of can also create major problems for native shrimp
the abdomen. species and wild fishes by transferring parasites and
disease if escapes from aquaculture facilities occur.
1 tooth in 8-13 teeth hairless
ventral side
Economic impacts
Marsupenaeus japonicus is commercially important
for fisheries in the Levant and in pond aquaculture
around the Aegean Sea and in the central and
western Mediterranean. It has almost supplanted the
previously commercially important native penaeid
prawn Melicertus kerathurus from the easternmost
part of the Mediterranean.

Melicertus kerathurus

Marsupenaeus japonicus. Photo: A.M. Arias

Management options
Melicertus kerathurus. Photo: A.M. Arias Strict controls on aquaculture procedures and
transport may prevent further introductions.

Brief history of its introduction and Further reading
pathways http://www.europe-aliens.org/pdf/Marsupenaeus_japonicus.pdf
Native to the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, Bariche, M. 2012. Field identification guide to the living marine
this species’ first Mediterranean record was as resources of the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean. FAO
Penaeus canaliculatus in Egypt in 1924. The species Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Rome, FAO.
610 pp.
had migrated through the Suez Canal and has
spread subsequently along the Levantine coast
(Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and southern
Turkey) to the Greek island of Rhodes. Other
Drawings: Juan Varela
records, from the Adriatic coast of Italy, France, the
Amvrakikos and Vistonikos Gulfs (Greece), the Sea
of Marmara, and the Mar Menor (Spain), are most
probably due to escapes from aquaculture facilities.

82 Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean MPAs: A strategy and practical guide for managers