Page 19 - Trending Magazine 2018 Fall

Musseling In_Layout 1 18-09-18 3:03 PM Page 6

Manitoba has six defined control zones where these
species are either there already or expected to spread
(Central, Nelson River, Whiteshell, Buffalo Bay,
Winnipeg River and Saskatchewan River/Cedar
Lake).
All watercraft are required to be inspected and
decontaminated with hot water if they’ve previously
been in a high-risk area, a process commonly referred
to as clean, drain, dry and dispose.
But while decontamination is provided free of Vials showing the stages of zebra mussel
charge, both federal and provincial officials still growth from larval to mature.
manage to catch people who skirt the rules.
Figures provided by Parks Canada show that
wardens charged 11 people last year for not getting
an inspection. Eight of those resulted in mandatory “What people need to realize
court appearances, because the vessels were used in
infected water bodies or those that were suspected is that with zebra mussels
to be.
So far this year, wardens have charged three people we’re looking at long-lasting
and issued several warnings, the majority of which irreversible impacts to a
have been for uninspected canoes, kayaks and
paddleboards. water body.”
Some watercraft have been seized by Parks Canada
and the maximum fine for non-compliance is
$100,000.
The province, meanwhile, has inspected 9,620 Meanwhile, veligers have been found in Lake
watercraft and performed 1,255 decontaminations Winnipeg’s north basin and Poplar River First Nation
at its six inspection sites since May, based on the confirmed they found an adult zebra mussel in one of
latest numbers from Aug. 29 their gill nets, Parks said.
But while a number of warnings have been handed The Nelson River to the north of Lake Winnipeg will
out, aquatic invasive species specialist for Manitoba most certainly be invaded by zebra mussels as well,
Sustainable Development Candace Parks said the Parks said. The only question is when.
goal isn’t to simply fine people — of which no one has She and others stressed that more lakes and rivers
provincially — but to make them aware of the dangers can be protected, as long as the public stays vigilant
posed by these animals. about decontamination.
“For me, I think that what people need to realize is But while the focus has largely been on the threat of
that with zebra mussels ... we’re looking at long-lasting zebra mussels, Manitoba has nearly 20 aquatic
irreversible impacts to a water body,” she said. invasive species, among them the spiny waterflea,
Having worked on the file since 2009, Parks has rusty crayfish and Asian carp.
seen first hand the problem of zebra mussels become Asked if she was worried that attention was being
reality here in Manitoba. taken away from these other species, Parks said the
Two falls ago, Parks was walking along Beaconia same messaging still applies.
Beach on the southeast-end of Lake Winnipeg, when “If I need to use zebra mussels as the conduit to get
she came across a black piece of debris. After the information out to the masses, and along the way
checking it further, she realized she was ankle deep in tell them if you do steps to prevent anything from
zebra mussels and burst into tears. invading Manitoba, I’ll ride the coattails of zebra
“It is absolutely heartbreaking to see it established mussels as long as I can.”
in your backyard,” she said. So far in Whirlpool Lake, the lack of evidence of
Elsewhere, the province has put Singush Lake in zebra mussels has been a welcome sign for Tremblay.
Duck Mountain Provincial Park under quarantine and But it does beg the question of how that DNA
put in place boating restrictions after a small sample managed to get there in the first place.
found on a substrate sampler came back positive for “We’ll probably never know,” Tremblay said. “If we
zebra mussel eDNA. don’t find anything else, we can speculate.”

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