Conservation officers utilize dogs to sniff out invasive species in B.C.

Conservation Officer Service dogs will be used to sniff out potentially destructive sea life as B.C. tightens its laws around invasive species.

Meet Major, a four-legged weapon in B.C.’s fight against an invasive aquatic species. The eight-year-old German Shepherd, part of the province’s K-9 Conservation Service, is one of two dogs doing crucial work to protect B.C. waterways.

“He’s highly intelligent, but focused on work,” explained conservation officer Denny Chretien.

“His tasks and his duties are to detect invasive species, such as Zebra and Quagga Mussels,” he said.

Major has the powerful ability to detect the smell of the mussels on boats where conservation officers may not be able to locate them with the naked eye.

Experts say zebra and quagga mussels have been found in Manitoba and parts of the U.S, and the province is working hard to ensure they don’t wind up in B.C.

“Once they’re introduced, they can reproduce very quickly. They can outcompete our native species for both food and habitat. They overtake the environment,” said Martina Beck, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.

The destructive mussels attach themselves to pipes, potentially creating multi-million dollar problems.

“If they’re found growing in our waterways, it could cost us up to $129 million a year in mitigation costs. They can affect water systems, watersheds, BC Hydro, everything,” said Randene Neill, Minister of Water, Land and Resources Stewardship.

The province has introduced legislation amendments to ensure anyone pulling a boat can’t bypass inspection points without facing consequences.

“We want them to do their due diligence, to ensure they’re not unknowingly spreading some sort of invasive species into our different bodies of water,” Neill said.

Inspection stations are located at key entry points in the province including along the highways, targeting boaters as they come into B.C. from Alberta and the U.S.

Inspectors were also targeting boaters at Cultus Lake near Chilliwack on Tuesday, though no invasive species were found while CTV News was there.

Beck said ensuring boats are cleaned, drained of all water and dried are key to protecting B.C.

According to Neill, B.C. began its prevention program against zebra and quagga mussels back in 2015. Since then, more than 280,000 watercraft inspections have taken place. Of those, 170 boats were found with some sort of mussels on them.

Once introduced, experts say zebra and quagga mussels are very difficult to eradicate.