An Ontario barge stopped last month to potentially infest BC waters with invasive mussels.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Environment said BC’s Conservation Officer Service (COS) achieved its largest invasive mussel decontamination after learning of an infested barge to the west.
According to the ministry, the Ontario Lake barge was headed for a Lower Mainland waterway for industrial use. Enter BC’s invasive mussel defense program.
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“They knew that the consequences of allowing the barge into BC waters could have significant impacts on local ecosystems and infrastructure because the invasive mussel could settle and outnumber native species,” the ministry said.
Inspectors located the truck company and its cargo, a massive barge that was transported in two sections 40 feet long (12 meters), each 10 feet (three meters) high and 10 feet wide. ample “.
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Close-up view of Lake Ontario’s infested barge. BC Conservation Officer Service
The ministry said the barge was redirected to a Richmond warehouse for complete decontamination, “which was the largest of its kind for invasive zebra mussels since the program began in 2015.”
Inspectors from Okanagan and Lower Mainland met, and the ministry said they used specialized equipment to remove thousands of invasive mussels for about 10 hours of work in two days.
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“Many of the mussels were viable, which means they could multiply in BC waters if given the chance. That has yet to happen in the province,” the ministry said.
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“This was the largest and most significant discovery of zebra mussels on a jet ski that our teams had experienced,” COS Insp said. Dave Webster. “To decontaminate the ship, we needed a specialized operational plan and space because of the large size.”
Webster said he was proud of how quickly everyone mobilized to prevent the infested barge from reaching British Columbia waters.
“This is a testament to the success of the Invasive Mussel Defense Program and its coordinated approach with our neighboring provinces to address the threat of this invasive species,” Webster said.
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The ministry said the barge also received a mandatory 30-day quarantine period, which ended this week.
“This incredible work shows the value of our program and the dedication of the staff to making it effective,” said Environment Minister George Heyman.
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“The fact that BC has received notification from several Western provinces shows the effectiveness of this multi-layered approach of protection through collective and collaborative prevention efforts in western Canada and the United States.”
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The ministry says some of the mussel samples will be used to train two detection dogs, Kilo and Major, both German Shepherds.
The ministry said that in 2021, the Invasive Mussel Defense Program conducted 33,000 inspections, with 244 identified as high risk. He also said 100 decontamination orders were issued and 18 vessels were given quarantine periods to meet the required drying time.
He also said COS inspectors completed 153 decontamination in 2021.
For more information on BC’s Invasive Mussel Defense Program, or to clean, drain, and dry, visit the province’s website.
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