Zebra mussels discovered in Lake Mead

[sTony]

Zebra mussels discovered in Lake Mead

By Bill Hutcheson

On January 6th, 2007, the fears of many western fisheries biologists became reality when a Las Vegas Harbor marina employee discovered a lone zebra mussel attached to a breakwater mooring cable. The alert employee notified the National Park service. Wes Baldwin, a NPS Zebra mussel-monitoring program volunteer and his team discovered several colonies of established Zebra Mussels within sample traps that had previously been set. Samples were forwarded to the US Fish and Wildlife service, which confirmed on January 9th that the samples were indeed those of the Zebra mussel. This is the first time that the Zebra Mussel has established

Bill Dickinson, Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent, in a quote from a National Park Service press release stated, “We are very concerned about this discovery, and its potential impacts on Lake Mead.â€

[B Becker]

CRAP!!! this would suck....it was on our local news this morning too....I missed the whole thing, but I did see the trailer at the bottom of the screen that mentioned it......Mead has taken it's blows over the years, it doesn't need another one.....

[cLanderman]

Seen these things in person, back in the Wisconsin area... I can't tell you how depressed that this makes me... and on my home water of all places.

[Ray L.]

This is not good to hear at all. Mead is a good fishery and could be great again if a couple of good things would happen. Now this man this is not good. Now we all have to make sure we wash our boats real good after fishing Mead. We do not need this in any of our lakes.

[LV Ba$$]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[LV Ba$$]

AWWWWWWWWW MAAAAAAAAN. You got to be kidding me!
Low water
Low Shad Population
Now Zebra Mussles....
Cant we get a break out here? I remember the good ole days when Las Vegas Wash was crystal clear all the way to where the water ran in, the shad population was out of control and I could flip till my heart was content. Now Im basically fishing a concrete swimming pool and get all excited when I see a twig sticking up in two feet of water!!!! Im 24 now and can only imagine how Mead is gonna look when Im 30 at this rate...SAD!-David Zachgo

[DeltaBound]

Zebra Mussels suck guys. They attach to anything and everything. This is very sad.

[William Pointing]

Explain in lamemens terms what Zebra Mussel do ?

[Pete Marino]

Judging by the look of that poor crawdad, the zebra mussles will stick to your bean bag when you jump in the water to go to shore to drop a growler like you always do when you are miles from civilization. Oh wait that was at Havasu wasnt it? That has got to feel a little below average I would think. Stay out of the water.....YIKES!!

On a serious note...I would like to know the lowdown on those things as well.

Pete

[William Pointing]

There a chance my wife will see a BULGE!!! Way Cool..

[Pete Marino]

That would take A TON OF zebra mussles dont you think. Maybe you can fool her by stuffing your pants with a sock like Brian Linehan does to hide his camel toe... SICK!!!!!

Pete

[Lance]

What is the options for getting rid of them once there in the water ways, or is that a stupid question.

[CORAL 96]

I think they are similar to the "Mitten Crab" problem they had when I lived out in Discovery Bay for 3 years. Not sure if they ever completly got rid of them either. Heard rumors that they want to drain the lake, but "HIGHLY" doubt that would happen. Too many folks in the Southwest & "Cali" depend on it's water source. It may drain on it's own if we don't find other water sources!!!

[vinnybass]

The news reported last night that now they think it was something else...not zebra mussels. Let's hope so.

[Terry]

even though they are quagga mussels, they do the exact same thing as zebra mussels. Same genus, and it's very hard to tell them apart.

It is imperative you do whatever you are directed to by wildlife/park officials about cleaning your vessels. Running all the water out of the bilge and motor is vital.

Google zebra mussels or quagga mussels and see for yourself. The area where they were found in Mead was in the southwest part of the lake, but we can't take chances on transferring them to CA or AZ. DFG for the three states and the feds are all over this one, but we need cooperation from the public.

Terry

[Ray L.]

If they are in Mead there is no stopping them from getting in to Mohave and then Havasu and on down the line.The problem is how they spawn. Free floating eggs and also sperm.
Yes we all need to do our part and scrub down our boats and also trailers. Also empty bilges and also put a treatment in your bildge.
This is bad news very bad news.

[cLanderman]

A couple of simple things to do in order to prevent the spread of the mussel, although I am very pessimistic about this because the problem is usually not fishermen, it is usually the weekend power boater that just puts his boat in, takes it out and goes elsewhere.

Anyway, it is fairly simple to stop this spread with a couple quick things to remember.

1. If coming out to the colorodo river lakes (ANY OF THE FOUR MAJOR LAKES... if they were found in mead it is probably already transported elsewhere, people go from mead to powell or mohave in the same day throughout the summer during vacationing) make sure to give your boat a day or two to Dry Thoroughly the eggs and sperm cannot survive out of the water, but can survive in the slightest puddle in the back of your boat.

2. Do a walkaround on the boat/trailer after getting out of the water to make sure that you didnt pick up any weeds, etc. that may have mussels clinging to it. Most of the mussels I have seen (back in the midwest) were about the size of a thumbnail at max, but they could be so small that you wouldnt see them if they were covered with alge, etc. Just keep an eye open.

That is really it, it isn't very time consuming, but I would hate to see some of the smaller Cali. lakes get this. A lake like Mead can still survive with mussels, but a lot of these smaller lakes would be destroyed, and in some cases have to be drained.

Stress the point DRY, DRY, DRY and everything will be fine.

[WormFisher]

I was in Vegas this weekend and they had the ag inspection station open outside Barstow and were inspecting the boats that came through.