MOUNTAIN HOME—Thanks to the alert eyes of a marina and boat transport service, Arkansas Game and Fish Biologists intercepted a vessel carrying hundreds of invasive zebra mussels before it could be launched in Norfork Lake.
Jeremy Risley, district fisheries supervisor for the AGFC said the boat had been housed in a marina slip at Bull Shoals, which has been infested with zebra mussels since 2007.
"The owner of the boat had just purchased it and had contracted the marina to move it to Norfork," Risley said. "When the men who worked for the marina saw what they thought were zebra mussels on the boat, they called us to come out and inspect it."
Upon inspection, the boat had many adult zebra mussels attached to its hull, motor and in its bilge area. Some of the mussels were as large as 2 inches. All zebra mussels will be removed from the boat and the vessel will require power washing and a 30-day drying period and final inspection before the boat can be launched into Norfork Lake.
To date, there have been no confirmed sightings of zebra mussels in Norfork Lake, Table Rock Lake or Beaver Lake, but the zebra mussels in Bull Shoals Lake saw a large population increase in 2014 and 2015. One adult female can produce between 10,000 and 50,000 larvae (called veligers) each time it spawns, and the species can spawn up to 5 times per year. It is still unclear how zebra mussel infestations will affect the overall health of the fishery, but they can cause native mussel populations to decline and cause serious damage to water intake pipes and other equipment left in the water. A report by the U.S. Department of State in 2009 estimated the total cost in the United States of the zebra mussel infestation from 2010 to 2020 at $3.1 billion.
"I really want to say thank you to the men who spotted the zebra mussels and called them in," Risley said. "Any time you see something like this that doesn't look right, it's always best to ask for help to make sure you're doing the right thing."
Visit cleandraindry.org for more information on how you can help stop the spread of invasive species.
Jeremy Risley, district fisheries supervisor for the AGFC said the boat had been housed in a marina slip at Bull Shoals, which has been infested with zebra mussels since 2007.
"The owner of the boat had just purchased it and had contracted the marina to move it to Norfork," Risley said. "When the men who worked for the marina saw what they thought were zebra mussels on the boat, they called us to come out and inspect it."
Upon inspection, the boat had many adult zebra mussels attached to its hull, motor and in its bilge area. Some of the mussels were as large as 2 inches. All zebra mussels will be removed from the boat and the vessel will require power washing and a 30-day drying period and final inspection before the boat can be launched into Norfork Lake.
To date, there have been no confirmed sightings of zebra mussels in Norfork Lake, Table Rock Lake or Beaver Lake, but the zebra mussels in Bull Shoals Lake saw a large population increase in 2014 and 2015. One adult female can produce between 10,000 and 50,000 larvae (called veligers) each time it spawns, and the species can spawn up to 5 times per year. It is still unclear how zebra mussel infestations will affect the overall health of the fishery, but they can cause native mussel populations to decline and cause serious damage to water intake pipes and other equipment left in the water. A report by the U.S. Department of State in 2009 estimated the total cost in the United States of the zebra mussel infestation from 2010 to 2020 at $3.1 billion.
"I really want to say thank you to the men who spotted the zebra mussels and called them in," Risley said. "Any time you see something like this that doesn't look right, it's always best to ask for help to make sure you're doing the right thing."
Visit cleandraindry.org for more information on how you can help stop the spread of invasive species.
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