The Zebra & Quagga Mussels are related, and both originate from fresh waters in Western :Eurasia. The Quagga is resident in the Dnieper River in the Ukraine. Zebra's more widespread. Once they get over here and into freshwater they have no problem propagating and spreading. Prevention seems to be a better strategy than trying to kill them off. Here in the NorthEast many agencies advocate carefullly cleaning and disinfecting any boat surfaces in contact with water to prevent transfer to new environments. One reservoir in Eastern PA quarantines boats for six weeks in their enclosures before they're allowed on the water. A place like Lake Mead could be a real source of infection to other waters. I'll bet there are plenty of transient boaters there... There's another one we should all be aware of, and it's only recently been recognized as the threat it is. It's a diatom, called Didymosphaenia geminatum. Forms large gelatinous mats on stream bottoms which cover the bottome preventing anything else from living there. Colloquially called Rock Snot. Evidently originated in some high mountain streams in the Rockies and was carried from there by trout fishermen. First really serious outbreak was in New Zealand and supposedly they have much evidence that's how it got there. Embarked on an intense program of cleaning visiting fisherpersons' gear and it seems to be working. Not here in the US though. Recently been found in classic trout streams like the Battenkill in NY/VT and just recently in the upper branches of the Delaware River. Again, best remedy is prevention. Unfortunately, this problem's not yet generally known, so not much being done yet. We as paddlers in such waters can certainly be vectors of this... Joe P. > [Original Message] > Yep, zebra mussels, round gobies, and other imports. And the Mississippi > is being taken over by alien mussels and Asian carp. The latter are big > and known to jump into boats, so they are a potential hazard to all small > boaters, including kayakers and canoeists. > The zebra mussels are thought to have arrived in the ballast water of > ocean-going ships. How do you get an ocean-going ship into Lake Mead? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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