Fisheries and Oceans Canada and provincial staff check watercraft at the Manitoba-Ontario border between June 21-23. (FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA / HANDOUT)
WINNIPEG — Roadside inspections for zebra mussels at the Manitoba-Ontario border have turned up the aquatic invasive species.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says between June 21-23, officers stopped 398 vehicles transporting watercraft and travelling across the provincial boundary.
Of those vehicles stopped, 294 were compliant with clean, drain, dry requirements. Another 104 vehicles were transporting watercraft or equipment that were not clean, drained, or dry and failed the AIS inspection. Five vehicles were found to be transporting zebra mussels.
Drivers transporting non-compliant watercraft had their watercraft and equipment decontaminated.
Zebra mussels reproduce quickly and can deteriorate infrastructure and property by attaching themselves to hard surfaces including boats, docks, rocks, plants and water intakes.
Zebra mussels compete with native mussel and other aquatic species for food and habitat, often leading to the decline or extinction of native species.
They can significantly alter aquatic ecosystems by filtering large quantities of plankton from the water, which can reduce food availability for native species and disrupt food webs.
The federal government banned all watercraft from Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park this year as a result of the discovery of zebra mussels.
