Underwater fauna and flora are this year’s common theme for EUROPA stamps, which are issued by the member postal services of PostEurop, the European branch of the Universal Postal Union, UPU.
The experienced and creative artist Miki Jacobsen has interpreted the theme in a Greenlandic context and created two attractive designs for Tusass Greenland’s two EUROPA stamps in 2024.
Forked-leaf rose weed is a red alga that grows in subtidal zones and can be found at depths of 30 to 40 metres below the surface of the sea. This red alga is present along virtually the entire Greenlandic coastline, except in the most northerly part of the country.
The leaf-shaped foliage is normally fork-shaped and has smaller leaf lobes along the edge of the larger leaves. The species is most developed along the open coast, where it grows up to 15 cm long with wide leaf sections. In more sheltered locations, e.g. in the Greenlandic fjords, a somewhat narrower variation of the red alga grows. However, it still retains its characteristic fork branching.
Deep-sea shrimp is a uniform red shrimp that grows up to 20 cm in length. It lives in the most northerly part both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and, therefore, also in both East and West Greenland. Deep-sea shrimp are most commonly found on muddy sea floors at depths ranging from 50 to 600 metres, but may also be found at depths well in excess of 1,000 metres.
The female spawns up to 2,800 eggs. At about 4 years old, the shrimp is fully grown and functions as a sexually mature male for 2 to 3 years, mating several times during this time. When the shrimp is 6-7 years old and weighs 7-9 grammes, it changes gender and lives the rest of its life as a female. A fully matured female can weigh around 15 grammes.
The deep-sea shrimp feeds on worms, dead organic material, alga and various small animals that they find on the sea floor and in the oceanic water column. The deep-sea prawn is itself food for larger fish such as cod, halibut, Greenland halibut and salmon. Seals also like to eat the shrimp. Deep-sea shrimp is Greenland’s most important export commodity. Consequently, the shrimp is often referred to as ‘The Red Gold’.
