Mussels and other invasive species can cling to the bottom of boats, but the provincial government is training dogs to detect them before they become a problem.
K9s and their handlers are learning to inspect boats and are educating the public about them.
“They’re pretty detrimental, because they have no natural predators and they reproduce very rapidly. They attach to any hard surface and they can start to clog up any pipes of canals or water treatment facilities. We’ve learned this from the provinces and states out east that have them,” Cindy Sawchuck, from the Watercraft Inspections and Conservation K9 Program, said.
So far, three dogs have been trained for the job.
Zebra mussels can survive for up to 30 days outside of water. So far, Alberta is free of these invasive mussels.
“We’ve got him trained now where he can detect mussels up to the size of a grain of rice over an entire watercraft,” Sawchuk said.
It’s estimated that if there ends up being an infestation into Alberta waterways, it would cost the province roughly $75-million a year just to control them.