Zebra mussels have spread across the country

[Gil57usa]

Why isn't there a quarantine process for boats crossing state lines?

You're kidding right? And here I thought America was a free country.

We have been dealing with the "Zebes" here in NY for a long time. Thanks to all the big ships that dumped their ballast water in the St.Lawrence and Lake Ontario.

All I can say is, Welcome to the club and enjoy the water clarity you will eventually see. Of course the down side is that as the plankton declines, so will the small food fish population and then the preditor fish. Then you will have a crystal clear view of nothing.

But really, don't worry, Mother Nature eventually will solve the problem.

 

[David P]

Im not so egotisticle as to be ashamed of showing my ignorance....what is MILF Oil?

 

[drdiver1952]

Well, it's not massage oil for attractive older women....

It's a underwater plant that is frequently a overgrowth nuisance. It's an imported exotic from Eurasia. The scientific name is Myriophyllum heterophyllum. Here's a pic

 

[gangrel441]

An instructor friend of mine has a map turtle he has trained to eat zebra mussels. Wouldn't it be kind of cool to train an army of turtles to decimate these little buggers, then turn 'em loose?

 

[chrisc]

There is a process out West for boats. Any boat that has been East of the Mississippi in the last 6 weeks has to be pressure washed and witness by a park ranger. On the down side the only way they will know or ask is by the registration number on the boat.

 

[TheHobster]

Why isn't there a quarantine process for boats crossing state lines?

I have been told that the larvae also can attach to dive gear and be transported as well. Here in MW we have a great number of puddles that have been cleaned by them. Now we are waiting for the disaster to happen as they are filter feeders, leaving less plankton and algae for the bait fish and that means less for the bass, pike, etc

 

[ajames54]

Why isn't there a quarantine process for boats crossing state lines?

No matter how thorough and effective a quarantine is they don't check migratory birds...

I don't know if zebra mussles spread this way but there are some that do

 

[Ben_ca]

The birds aren't the worry but the boats... The numerous cases that the OP sights that are only caught once they are out west.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Why isn't there a quarantine process for boats crossing state lines?

They don't man the check points we have now. I think it would be too costly to control this. Lake Mead has been pretty vigilant in checking boats and has caught quite a few over the years. I guess they missed one.

All I can say is, Welcome to the club and enjoy the water clarity you will eventually see. Of course the down side is that as the plankton declines, so will the small food fish population and then the preditor fish. Then you will have a crystal clear view of nothing.

But really, don't worry, Mother Nature eventually will solve the problem.

Well, all the lakes (except one) in Arizona are manmade. This also means all the lakes are stocked. We have no natural fish population or predators, etc. That's not the concern out this way. If that's all there was to it, I'd say bring them on. There's not much to see in these lakes anyway. Even the fish that are stocked in the lakes stay away...even from the fish habitats they put in!

The problem is the big intake and outtake systems in the dam that supply water to residents of the state. The ZMs can overtake the systems and clog them up. It will cost millions to keep those pipes clear of ZMs. Lake Mead is part of the National Park Service, so the bill will be paid for by all of us. However, the system feeds into state and locally controlled systems, so eventually our already high taxes will be higher. That's the primary issue out this way.


BTW, the Las Vegas Marina is about 7 miles north of the Lake Mead scuba park and other "popular" dive sites. The likely culprit of transporting the ZMs to Mead was a boat.

 

[WJL]

The birds aren't the worry but the boats...

If birds can transport zebra mussel spawn, and I think they can, then its only a matter of time until every body of water is infected with them, no matter how carefully you clean boats and dive equipment.