Invasive zebra mussels found in lake Manitoba

WINNIPEG (CityNews) – Zebra mussels, the invasive aquatic species, have been discovered in Lake Manitoba, and now concerns are being raised about what this means for the future.

According to the Government of Canada, zebra mussels can have significant negative impacts on freshwater lakes.

The mussels beat out native species for food and can lead to toxic algae blooms. The government estimates the yearly damage done by zebra mussels is in the millions due to clogging intake structures at power stations and water treatment plants.

Kevin Freedman knows firsthand how quickly Zebra Mussels can get out of control. During a walk along the beach where his family has a cabin at lake Winnipeg, Freedman found himself stepping over what looked like millions of dead zebra mussels.

“There were zebra mussels for as far as we could see, and going into the water, and in some places, there were feet deep, like more than 12 inches or 24 inches deep,” said Freedman.

Freedman is worried that what happened in Lake Winnipeg could now happen in Lake Manitoba after zebra mussels were detected in nine water samples collected from the Lake Manitoba narrows and there could be a reproducing population of zebra mussels in the lake.

“I’m very concerned that this is something that we cannot really do anything about now, and I’m not really sure what the long-term repercussions will be for these lakes.

“They procreate so quickly and there are so many of them, and they are starting to take away a lot of the nutrients and life that other fish need to survive.”

The province says all watercrafts in Lake Manitoba must now be decontaminated before being placed into another body of water.

Ralph Eichler, the Minister of Agriculture and Resource Development writes:

“We know that Manitobans support our effort to prevent the spread of AIS, and most boaters are responsible for following the steps to clean, drain, dry and decontaminate their equipment. We need to ensure boaters and all surface water users get on board with protecting our environment and help contain the new finding of zebra mussels in Lake Manitoba.”

Freedman however is worried the new measures will be hard to enforce given the shoreline of Lake Manitoba is hundreds of kilometres long.

“Its essentially impossible so, I do hope people will consider their actions a lot more.”