Meet Hilo, a sniffer dog trained to keep invasive mussels out of the province

The province is hoping sniffer dogs will help stop the spread of invasive mussel species in Alberta lakes.

With invasive mussel species running rampant in certain Canadian lakes and rivers, Alberta is using every method available to inspect watercraft coming into the province.

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At Wabamun Lake Provincial Park, that means it’s a busy Saturday for Hilo the sniffer dog.

His job is to detect mussels on all watercraft – boats, kayaks, canoes, jet skis and more. He’s been doing it for 10 years now, and he’s a very good boy.

“A dog’s nose and a human’s eyes together create a really clear picture of what could be on that watercraft,” said Cindy Sawchuk, who leads the aquatic invasive species program with the provincial government.

She explained that mussels like to hide in cool, damp and dark places, which are difficult to spot for humans. Hilo sits down to alert his handler when he’s found mussels.

Hilo didn’t find any at Wabamun, but Sawchuk said since highway inspection stations opened this year, the province has managed to stop six watercraft that were unwittingly harbouring invasive mussels.

‘Number 1 priority threat’

Mandatory inspections of watercraft started June 1 and include anything you could bring out onto the water, including inflatable pink flamingos.

It’s $4,200 if you don’t stop for an inspection. If you’re coming from the east or south, inspections are required within seven days.

There are inspection stations at every major highway coming into the province.

Sue Styles, the board chair of Wabamun Watershed Management Council, said that invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels are a “number one priority threat for Wabamun lake.”

“It’s essential, with all of the pressure from visitors, that we get the word out and everyone is aware that we have potential threat of invasive mussels,” Styles said.

That pressure is exacerbated from news that bodies of water like Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba are battling “devastating” rates of mussels.

“They completely take over,” Sawchuk said.

Invasive mussels can cost millions in damages, threaten water systems and damage the environment.

On Friday, the province sent out a release about mussels, saying the cost of clean-up once mussels have gotten into the water is far worse than the cost of preventing them.

Zebra and quagga mussels, Sawchuk explained, have tiny threads they use to attach to anchors, live walls or wherever they can.

The province is now asking for residents to weigh in on what introducing an annual pass for watercraft could look like to further prevent mussel invasion.

That survey can be found here.

In the meantime, Styles asks boaters, paddlers and floaters alike to be aware of cleaning, draining and drying their watercraft every time they leave a body of water, even if it’s in and out in a short period of time.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall