Stewardship Tip Dec 12th, 2008- Zebra Mussels
Since their introduction into the Great Lakes in 1988, zebra mussels, a nonindigenous aquatic species, have expanded their range south to the Gulf and west to California. Here are three tips to help curb their spread.
Remove mud, dirt, sand, and all visible plants, fish and animals: Inspect and clean all equipment that comes into contact with the water. Remove debris from nets, dock lines, anchors, rods, reels, and the rollers on your trailer. Also, eliminate water from all equipment. Drain your boat’s bilge, live well, and engine cooling system. Empty all water from canoes, kayaks, and float tubes.
Clean your equipment. Immature zebra mussels are microscopic and will escape inspection. Rinse your gear with hot water (greater than 104° F, 140° F is preferable). High pressure washing can be effective, however, resist the temptation to take your boat to the local carwash. Clean your equipment at the launch, the lake, or streamside. Equipment that is sensitive to hot water can be soaked for 20 minutes in a 100% solution of vinegar. Alternatively, you can soak equipment in a 1% salt/water solution (2/3 cup of salt in 5 gallons of water) for 24 hours.
Dry your equipment: Allow for 5 days of drying time before entering new waters. Drying equipment in full sunlight is preferable.
Why it is important to the fish: Zebra mussels are efficient filter feeders; one can filter about a quart of water per day. Large populations can reduce the biomass of phytoplankton significantly. By doing so, zebra mussels remove the food base upon which many of our native fish and freshwater invertebrates are dependent. The impact is felt as it works its way up the food chain.
Why it is important to you: Zebra mussels are are notorious for colonizing and clogging the intake pipes for power plants, public water supply plants, and industrial facilities. Cleaning zebra mussels from infrastructure costs time and money. The costs flow downstream; we, ultimately, pay the bill. Moreover, water managers may be inclined, in the future, to shut down access in unaffected waters in order to protect the resources that they manage.
When we clean and dry our equipment, we help to curb the spread of zebra mussels. Our fish are the ultimate beneficiaries. To read more on how you can help stop the spread of zebra mussels, visit protectyourwaters.net
This week’s sponsor-partner: Grabber Warmmer
Now is the perfect time to stock up on Grabber warmers and accessories! Warmers.com is proud to offer a limited time 15% online discount on any regularly-priced items. Simply enter code FISH2009 during checkout. We particularly like their new foot warmers!
Their partnership makes this week’s “Stewardship Tip” possible
Rising demand for our weekly Stewardship Tip and a new partnership with Fly Cast America now makes the Stewardship Tip available in Spanish. Ahora, reciba el Stewardship Tip en español. Gentileza de Fly Cast America.
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