[Phoenix] Quagga mussel confirmed at Lake Pleasant

[Bill Johnson]

The news we have been expecting has occurred.  See below forwarded from
David Allocco

Bill Johnson



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Allocco <onthewind at cox.net>
Date: Dec 20, 2007 10:01 AM
Subject: Quagga mussel confirmed at Lake Pleasant

Arizona Game and Fish Department
NEWS RELEASE

Dec. 19, 2007

Quagga mussel invasion confirmed at Lake Pleasant
Boaters asked to inspect their vessels for aquatic hitchhikers

PHOENIX -- Quagga mussels have been discovered at multiple sites at Lake
Pleasant, and state wildlife officials are requesting that boaters and other
recreationists take simple steps to help prevent this Eastern European
menace and other aquatic hitchhikers from spreading to other lakes.

On Dec. 17, small adult mussels were collected from a dry-docked boat that
had been moored at Pleasant. A team of biologists from the Arizona Game and
Fish Department also discovered mussels in the southern end of the lake from
boat slips at the Lake Harbor Marina, at the Pleasant Harbor Marina boat
launch, and the 10-lane boat ramp courtesy dock. Those invasive mollusks
have been confirmed as quagga mussels.

Quagga mussels, which have caused millions of dollars in damage in the Great
Lakes region, were first discovered at Lake Mead in January of this year.
Since then, they have been confirmed in lakes Mohave and Havasu and their
presence has been suspected, but not confirmed, at Lake Powell. This past
fall, quagga mussels were discovered in a segment of the Central Arizona
Project (CAP) Canal in Scottsdale. The CAP canal originates at Lake Havasu.
Water from the CAP is used to fill Lake Pleasant.

"We suspected that it was just a matter of time before quagga mussels became
established in Lake Pleasant, but we hoped it wouldn't happen so soon," said
Larry Riley, a fisheries biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish
Department.

Riley, who is heading the Quagga Team for the state wildlife department,
pointed out that a single quagga mussel can produce 30,000 to 40,000
fertilized eggs in a single breeding cycle. One adult female quagga can
release up to a million eggs in a single year.

Game and Fish Department officials are asking all boaters and anglers
throughout the state to help fight the continuing spread of these and other
invaders by routinely taking simple precautionary steps each time they visit
a waterway anywhere in the state.

Riley added that the presence of other invasive species, such as golden
algae, means all boaters and other water recreationists should take simple,
precautionary steps – every time they go to a lake, river or stream.

Before leaving a lake or other waterway, always:

* CLEAN the hull of your boat, remove all plant and animal material.
* DRAIN the water from the boat, livewell and the lower unit.
* DRY the boat, fishing gear, and equipment.

If you are a day user, please wait five days before launching your boat
someplace else. This five-day waiting period will aid tremendously in
killing those hidden hitchhikers on your boat, such as the microscopic
quagga larvae. Also, it is a good idea to wash the hull of your boat with
high-pressure water, either at the lake, if washers are available, or after
leaving the waterway.

Visiting a self-help car wash that has high-pressure soapy water is an
excellent idea either on your way home, or while on the way to the next lake
– it can even help keep your boat looking new.  Or, giving your boat a hot
soapy bath when you get home can also help protect your investment and while
also helping protect the next lake you visit.

Remember, many of these aquatic hitchhikers can harm your boat as well.
These invaders will attach themselves to boats and can cause damage to boat
motors if they block the flow of cooling water through the engine.

If you are moving a boat that has been moored on a mussel-positive lake,
please take at least one of these extra precautions:

* Power wash the hull so that it is clean "to the touch"
* Bilge decontamination that consists of either a 140-degree hot water flush
of the bilge spaces or
* A household vinegar flush of the bilge spaces, or
* A mandatory minimum 27-day desiccation period where the boat is removed
from the waterway and allowed to dry out; all through-hull fittings and
bilge plugs must be opened to the air with no residual lake water allowed to
remain standing in the bilge spaces; if, for any reason, water cannot drain
or standing water remains in the bilge, it must be treated with heated water
or vinegar solution.

Quagga mussels do not pose a known threat to human health. Biologists are
concerned that quagga mussels may cause ecological shifts in the lakes they
invade, with consequences to valued wildlife resources.

Because these invasive mussels attach to hard surfaces like concrete and
pipes, they will affect canals, aqueducts, water intakes and dams, resulting
in increased maintenance costs for those facilities.

Quagga mussels are small, freshwater bi-valve mollusks (relatives to clams
and oysters) that are triangular in shape with an obvious ridge between the
side and bottom. The zebra mussel, a close relative of the quagga, gets its
name from the black- (or dark brown) and white-striped markings that appear
on its shell.

Quagga mussels are native to the Dneiper River drainage of the Ukraine.
Zebra mussels are native to the Caspian, Black, and Azov seas of Eastern
Europe.

These exotic mussels were first discovered in the United States in Lake
Saint Clair, Michigan, in 1988 and are believed to have been introduced in
1986 through ballast water discharge from ocean-going ships. Since their
initial discovery, zebra mussels have spread rapidly throughout the Great
Lakes and Mississippi River Basin states and other watersheds throughout the
eastern and central United States. Quagga mussels have not spread as
extensively.

These invasive mussels in Lake Mead are 1,000 miles farther west than any
other known colony of zebra mussels. The primary method of overland
dispersal of these mussels is through human-related activities. Given their
ability to attach to hard surfaces and survive out of water, many
infestations have occurred by adult mussels hitching rides on watercraft.
The microscopic larvae also can be transported in bilges, ballast water,
live wells, or any other equipment that holds water.

They are primarily algae feeders. They feed by filtering up to a liter of
water per day through a siphon. These mussels consume large portions of the
microscopic plants and animals that form the base of the food web. The
removal of significant amounts of phytoplankton from the water can cause a
shift in species and a disruption of the ecological balance of a lake or
other waterway.

These mussels can settle in massive colonies that can block water intake and
affect municipal water supply and agricultural irrigation and power plant
operation. In the United States, Congressional researchers estimated that
zebra mussels alone cost the power industry $3.1 billion in the 1993-1999
period, with their impact on industries, businesses, and communities more
than $5 billion.
For more information, click here or visit www.100thmeridian.org.

Kelley Fowke
Arizona Game and Fish Department

Boating Education Coordinator
phone   623-236-7381
cell      602-568-0638
fax      623-236-7903
kfowke at azgfd.gov
www.azgfd.gov
OUR OFFICES HAVE MOVED
New address: Arizona Game and Fish Department
                     5000 W. Carefree Highway
                     Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000
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