Alberta upping prevention efforts to keep invasive mussels out of province

A boat propeller encrusted with invasive quagga mussels that was found in Nevada is displayed during a demonstration of a boat inspection for reporters, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, at a boat launch in Olympia, Wash. Environmental and other agencies seek to stop the spread of invasive mussels because they can clog piping and mechanical systems of industrial plants, utilities, locks and dams. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Alberta’s government says it’s upping its defences against invasive mussels, hiring more dogs to sniff out the shellfish and preparing to levy hefty fines for boaters who skip inspections this summer.

Environment Minister Grant Hunter says once the species is established, they’re nearly impossible to remove and can cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Starting in May, watercraft inspections will be mandatory at stations near the province’s eastern and southern crossings for anyone entering Alberta.

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Richard Phillips, chair of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association, says mussels attach to hard surfaces, rapidly accumulate and can form layers that clog canal, reservoir and pipeline intakes.

Nicole Kimmel, an aquatic invasive species specialist for the government, says it only takes one watercraft with an attached mussel, releasing a million eggs, to create an infestation.

Kimmel says B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta don’t have invasive mussels but many states to the south, along with Manitoba and some eastern provinces, do.

“That zone of mussel-free is getting smaller every year, so we’re feeling that pressure,” she said at a government announcement in Lethbridge on Tuesday.

Hunter added the province wants to maintain its mussel-free status in the same way it has prevented rats from establishing a population since 1950.

“We have been successful with rats for decades, and we want to be able to say the same thing about quagga and zebra mussels and now golden mussels as well,” he said.

Megan Evans, executive director at the Alberta Invasive Species Council, said the mussels fundamentally change the lakes and rivers they invade.

“They strip the water of nutrients, disrupting the base of the food web, reducing plankton, impacting native fish populations, and driving long-term changes across entire aquatic ecosystems,” she said.

Hunter said trained dogs can sniff out mussels in about half the time it takes human inspectors, so the province is expanding to three canine teams from one.

Skipping an inspection station from May 1 to Sept. 30 could cost boaters $4,200, and failing to remove a drain plug when transporting watercraft in the province carries a $600 fine.

The province said a record 12 inspection stations would be open this year.

Last year, the government said it inspected just under 22,000 boats, thwarting 13 that were carrying mussels as they tried to enter Alberta.

Hunter said the province is investing in new “hot wash” technology to kill the species, adding more inspection stations and expanding its environmental DNA testing to monitor more water bodies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press