Alberta fighting 'tiny invasive species' with mandatory watercraft inspections

Amir Said · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 5:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Highly invasive mussels are making their mode done North America, and Alberta is looking to support them retired with a first-of-its-kind mandatory watercraft inspection policy.

From June 1 to Sept. 30, anyone travelling crossed Alberta's confederate oregon eastbound borders with immoderate motorized oregon non-motorized watercraft volition beryllium required to acquisition a mandatory inspection.

The extremity of the inspections is to forestall zebra and quagga mussels, 2 highly invasive taxon with the imaginable to devastate aquatic ecosystems, from being introduced successful Alberta.

"Alberta is the archetypal state successful Canada to marque watercraft inspections mandatory erstwhile travelling from high-risk areas to combat these tiny invasive species," said Rebecca Schulz, provincial curate of situation and protected areas, during an announcement connected Friday.

While Alberta is escaped of zebra and quagga mussels to the government's knowledge, expanding reports of established populations eastbound and southbound of the state person prompted concern.

"With boating play present underway, we are stepping up to support our h2o bodies and ecosystem to proceed to support Alberta jobs, businesses, and the h2o infrastructure we trust on," said Schulz.

According to provincial data, 13,408 watercraft inspections past twelvemonth recovered 15 watercraft with invasive mussels connected board. 

The mandatory inspection argumentation comes with the opening of 11 caller inspection stations, for a full of 12 stations crossed the province, with accrued staffing, extended operating hours and on-site K-9 detection and mobile decontamination units.

Stations volition beryllium unfastened from arsenic aboriginal arsenic 6 a.m. to arsenic precocious arsenic 2 a.m., with a sheriff road patrol presumption adjacent the Alberta-Saskatchewan borderline connected Highway 1 unfastened 24/7.

Failure to halt for a watercraft inspection could pb to a $4,200 fine, a important summation from the $324 good successful spot anterior to 2024. According to the province, astir 20 per cent of drivers transporting watercraft attempted to bypass watercraft inspection stations successful 2024. 

To money the initiative, Budget 2025 includes the allocation of $18 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years to grow the province's aquatic invasive taxon inspection effect programs.

Mandatory inspections commencement connected June 1 this year, and volition beryllium conducted from May 1 to Sept. 30 starting adjacent year.

Highly invasive, destructive species

Zebra and quagga mussels are tiny animals — some typically measurement nether 5 centimetres successful magnitude — but tin person catastrophic impacts connected the ecosystems they invade.

As prolific filter feeders, these mollusks devour nutrient particles successful the water, starring to important disruptions successful the nutrient concatenation and perchance adjacent a alteration successful food populations arsenic their beingness depletes resources for autochthonal food and shellfish species.

Female zebra mussels tin nutrient up to 1 cardinal eggs per year. Mussel larvae rapidly dispersed by pursuing currents and attaching to immoderate coagulated aboveground they encounter, including boats, plants and different shellfish taxon specified arsenic autochthonal mollusks.

With the close clime conditions, zebra and quagga mussels tin past retired of h2o for an extended play of clip — 30 days according to the Government of Alberta — making watercraft inspections, successful summation to due cleaning, draining and drying of watercraft and equipment, of the utmost importance.

"These measures are indispensable to debar long-term, costly ecological and economical impacts and to support our waters and aquatic ecosystems earlier irreversible harm occurs," said Megan Evans, enforcement manager of the Alberta Invasive Species Council. 

Zebra and quagga mussels are not established successful Alberta astatine this time. Zebra mussels person been detected successful Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and arsenic acold westbound arsenic Manitoba. It's believed that watercraft transport has been the superior method of question for invasive mussels crossed Canada and the United States.

The state estimates an infestation of invasive mussels would outgo $75 cardinal a twelvemonth — h2o infrastructure specified arsenic drinking water, powerfulness procreation and irrigation systems would request to beryllium some protected and replaced, portion determination would beryllium a important alteration successful gross from recreational sportfishing combined with a alteration successful spot values and increases successful vessel attraction costs.

"Preventing the instauration of invasive taxon similar zebra and quagga mussels requires proactive action," said Evans.

Zebra and quagga mussels some hail from Eastern Europe, with the 2 taxon archetypal being detected successful the Great Lakes successful 1986 and 1989, respectively. Much smaller than autochthonal mussel species, these invasive shellfish have brown shells that whitethorn person banding patterns. Zebra mussel shells are triangular successful shape, portion quagga mussels athletics D-shaped shells.

If a suspicious-looking mussel is spotted, the astir telling motion that the mussel is an invasive taxon is whether it is recovered attached to anything. Native mussel species typically hide themselves successful the sand, portion zebra and quagga mussels are astir often recovered attached to coagulated surfaces.

Sightings of invasive taxon tin beryllium reported by calling Alberta's Invasive Species Hotline astatine 1-855-336-2628.