Die-off of hundreds of snails brings foul smell to Lake Micmac in N.S.

When Patricia Mombourquette was getting acceptable for a aquatics successful Lake Micmac past week, she was greeted by a foul stench and the unsightly beingness of hundreds of dormant snails that had floated to the surface.

What initially looked like small achromatic dots and a movie connected the water was apt an invasive taxon known arsenic the Chinese enigma snail, which is besides called a trapdoor snail.

"It's a putrid odor that's nauseating," said Mombourquette, who has only been surviving successful her lakefront Dartmouth, N.S., spot for a fewer months.

The Nova Scotia Invasives Species Council says it has been receiving much reports lately of the Chinese enigma snail appearing in ponds and lakes.

The snails astir apt recovered their mode into autochthonal ecosystems by being released into lakes and ponds by aquarium keepers trying to get escaped of them. A azygous pistillate tin springiness commencement to implicit a 100 babe snails, truthful the population grows quickly.

Introducing aquatic taxon into ponds and lakes is amerciable nether the national Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations.

Mombourquette contacted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to study the incident.

In a connection to CBC News, DFO said wide mortality events are communal for Chinese enigma snails successful freshwater environments with ample populations.

"Mortality events tin besides beryllium caused by biology conditions, specified arsenic debased oxygen levels, fluctuations successful h2o temperatures, and different factors," it said. "DFO does not expect immoderate semipermanent biology impacts pursuing this mortality event."

It said the decomposition of snails is what's causing the stench.

Mombourquette said she wasn't definite if this acquisition was a recurring thing, truthful she asked her neighbour, Louise Jessome.

"I've ne'er seen it before and ... I've been connected that water for 48 years," said Jessome.

She waited to see if the odor and the snails would vanish connected their own. But connected Friday, Jessome took matters into her ain hands.

Armed with gloves, a garbage container and her boat, she went to the dock to region the snails. After 30 minutes, she had filled a 3rd of the bag, but much snails were inactive floating connected the lake.

"It's conscionable rotting fish, what it smells like," said Jessome.