BC Conservation Officers made an alarming discovery on Saturday.
A woman in Terrace found invasive Zebra mussels in her aquarium.
Conservation Officers south of the border first alerted authorities in Canada that shipments of moss balls, decorative plants that are often used in aquariums and ponds, were found contaminated with the mussel.
The moss balls were imported from Europe and sold widely at pet stores and plant emporiums.
The BC Conservation Officers Service issued a warning on social media about the moss balls on Friday, and less than 24 hours later, issued this tweet.
“It’s very concerning,” Dave Webster, COS Alien Invasive Species lead said. “We’re trying to work with the industry to stop this product from being put out to the public.
Webster said he and his team are notifying and inspecting stores where the moss balls might be sold and are trying to track down aquarium owners that may have purchased them.
The Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) has been sounding the alarm about the devastating impacts Zebra and Quagga mussels have when they’ve reached a water system.
They reproduce at an astonishing rate and cling to hard surfaces, clogging intake pipes and covering infrastructure.
Their shells ruin beaches.
The OBWB estimates managing an invasion would cost the Okanagan about $42 million a year.
“To manage, not to eradicate,” Corinne Jackson, Communications Director with the OBWB said.
Just this past week, the OBWB sent a letter to the province, urging it to do more to prevent invasive mussels from arriving in B.C. on watercraft – headed for our lakes and rivers.
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