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The Zebra Mussel Incident

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THE ZEBRA MUSSEL INCIDENT
The Zebra Mussel Incident

Zebra Mussels are an invasive species which now dominate the Great Lakes region, they were introduced in the 1980’s and ever since then their quantities have increased dramatically. Since the time they arrived they have caused many problems including problems in the ecosystem and with the economy. Human’s have been trying ever since their arrival to eliminate or reduce their quantities but not much progress has been made. Right now Zebra Mussels are one of the biggest issues affecting the great lakes.

What are zebra mussels?

Zebra mussels are highly invasive freshwater bivalves native to the eurasia black sea region. Bivalves meaning an aquatic mollusk that have a compressed body enclosed …show more content…

The first thing that we should start by doing is to stopping the spread of the species, this can be done by cleaning the boat of any organisms underneath, above and on the boat. Also by not reusing bait, flushing the engine after finishing and drying off the boat outside of water can help the stop of spreading. These steps to stopping the spread are ones that everyone should follow to help reduce the spread of zebra mussels. Stopping the spread is only a small piece of the picture, what would be the point of stopping the spread without resolving the problem eventually. Universities and other associations are currently working on ways to fix the problem, lately they have been attacking the problem more and more as the affects on our Great Lakes increase. There are many great idea’s and concepts circling around but there is not one that has yet to find a strategy to completely remove or balance the quantities of zebra mussels in our …show more content…

They have a strategic plan against invasive species, they first try to prevent invasive species, then they respond as quick as possible to new invasive species, and then if the invasive species has already established then they manage them best as possible. One of the ways that they manage established invasive species like zebra mussels is by introducing a predator from its original ecosystem to create a balance in the new one. The government of Ontario's website states that there are many initiatives that they have taken against invasive species like zebra mussels since 2006. One of these initiatives being a law that has been passed between Canada and the United States of America which forces vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes to flush their tanks with salt water. This makes sure that people don't continue the spread of zebra mussels or the spread of new invasive species. Other than these few regulations and strategies there aren't many other things they have done, for now they are only creating awareness towards the zebra mussel issue through websites and links with other

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