 Although the species has been reported to grow up to 30 m deep, the main occurrence is between 8−12 m. "F. lumbricalis" forms monotypic dense meadows in the central and northern Baltic Sea, where most of the other perennial red algae are not able to sustain the low salinity.Over the last half a century, communities of loose-lying "F. lumbricalis" in Kattegat, Denmark and Puck Lagoon, Poland have been disappeared due to overharvesting or eutrophication.In other places, the species is too sparsely distributed, making it incompatible for industrial practices.