
AIS: Massive Mussel-Fouled Boats Pass Through Montana Recently
We've all seen them and had to stop at them, regardless of what kind of watercraft we are carrying.
But in January? Well, not so much, as many of the watercraft inspection stations that look for aquatic invasive species are closed for the season.
Fortunately, some remain open year-round. That was the case in Spokane, Washington recently, and what they found on monstrous tugboats that journeyed well over 1,400 miles along Interstate 90 (sound familiar, Montana?) could have had potentially disastrous consequences for that state's waterways.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife tells us that two tugboats infested with quagga and zebra mussels were intercepted at the Spokane watercraft inspection station on January 7th. While one tugboat had only a few mussels attached, the department removed a staggering 21 gallons of invasive mussels from the other! It's the largest volume of invasive mussels removed from a single vessel entering Washington in the last 7 years.
Had the Spokane check station not been open, the mussel-fouled watercraft could have ended up in Washington’s waters. A single mussel can produce over one million eggs per year. While not currently established in Washington, quagga mussel detections in Montana and Idaho keep Washington authorities on high alert. In the last 5 years, they’ve intercepted 127 invasive mussel-infested boats.
The tugboats were enroute to a Washington marina from Lake Michigan. Most western states that operate watercraft inspection stations during the colder months do so with reduced staff and hours, making Spokane one of the few watercraft inspection stations open and fully staffed this time of year.
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