Published on: May 20, 2015
A boat overrun with invasive mussels was intercepted by
Alberta’s watercraft inspectors before it made it into Sylvan Lake on the May
long weekend. It was discovered during
one of the mandatory inspections, which started over the weekend on highways
coming into Alberta and at lakes across the province.
“It was amazing,” said Cindy Sawchuk of Alberta
Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. “It’s scary, also. “It had mussels on it.” The owner, who had bought the boat in
Ontario, was about to launch it at the Sunbreaker Cove launch at Sylvan Lake
when they inspectors found the mussels. Sawchuk
said they found a total of seven “high-risk” boats, which either came from a
mussel-contaminated province or state, looked dirty or slimy or had standing
water after being in a area with invasive mussels. Three of those boats were given hot water
washes to ensure they were not contaminated, she said.
Officials reminded Albertans to clean, drain and dry
their boats to prevent the mussels from damaging Alberta’s aquatic ecosystems. The invasive species — zebra and quagga
mussels — are spreading throughout the western United States and Eastern
Canada, making it as far west as Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.
There’s no record of the non-native mussels in Alberta
waterways, but several infested boats have been intercepted in the past couple
of years.
It’s estimated it would cost about $75 million in annual
losses if they were to establish themselves in Alberta’s lakes and rivers due
to a drop in tourism dollars, as well as the potential to clog pipes and
irrigation canals throughout the province.
