Over the years, many boat owners, swimmers and marina owners have been experiencing small clam like animals sticking to boats, docks and even rocks in the area called Zebra Mussels. It is illegal in Minnesota to have these pesky creatures attached to a boat.

Zebra Mussels are small freshwater bivalve mollusks that are ‘D’ shaped with yellow and brown stripes that arrived in the Great Lakes in the 80s in the Duluth harbor. These mussels have now infested all the Great Lakes, streams in Minnesota and rivers such as the St. Croix and Mississippi. Zebra Mussels stick to mostly any solid surface in water.

 A new bacteria has been found to kill off Zebra Mussels found by Daniel P. Molloy, an emeritus biologist. Molloy discovered a new bacterium called Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CL145A that has the ability to kill the mussels and appear to have little to no effect on other living organisms in the surrounding waters, according to his tests.

Zebra Mussels cause ecological and economic threats to Minnesota. Large infestations can affect fish populations, impacts recreation and even hurt industries such as water and power facilities by clogging pipes.

“Zebra Mussels are a big problem especially in the state of Minnesota. Many people in the summer take out their boats and bring them from lake to lake transporting these infesting creatures that affect our waters very much so that they kill fish, plants and more. If they aren’t controlled soon, we might face serious problems in our waters. The new bacteria that has been introduced is worth a try because, in my opinion, they need to be controlled immediately,” said boat and dock owner Bob Antonsen.

Zebra Mussels need to be controlled before the infestations spread more and grow larger in the already infested areas. If people don’t know the rules and laws when it comes to the mussels then it can lead to serious problems and fines.

“You have to know what a Zebra Mussel is and, of course, its got the stripes on the back. There’s 50 species of mussels protected by law and that are endangered, but it is illegal to take dead mussel shells from the St. Croix River or any others or to possess Zebra Mussels. What they do is they tend to eat the eggs of fish,” said local boat owner Rich Myhers.

Many boat owners say Zebra Mussels are a huge hassle when it comes to removing them. Boat owners in particular get very frustrated at how difficult Zebra Mussels are.

“When they die, they congregate together and it becomes almost concrete. You have to have something to chip them off with, and those that are alive need to be washed off the boat and the trailer,” said Myhers.

People say that it is a way of life and that fish are going to be affected by things from time to time and Zebra Mussels are not to worry so much about, while others believe that the mussels should be illegal to save lives of other organisms.

“Zebra Mussels in particular [should be illegal], not the rest because they’re protected, but Zebra mussels are invasive species that aren’t natural in any lakes or rivers in Minnesota,” explained Myhers. “Some people think it is inhumane to kill the Zebra Mussels as it is natural for invasive things to affect populations of a species, but I think our lakes and rivers are more important than a small mollusk that does us no use,” said Antonsen.

If the new bacteria discovered is used, it is a win win situation, Zebra Mussels could possibly be controlled or killed, it saves living things in the waters and gives people a break from cleaning the things they attach to.

“You have to look at your trailer and boat every time you take it out of the water, and if there is any on one of those then you get fined for transporting zebra mussels when you take them out,” said Myhers. “I haven’t heard of the new bacteria. I think excessive testing wouldn’t need to be done to make sure we are taking care of one issue to create another possible bigger one,” said Antonsen.

The new bacteria introduced by Molloy can be very effective to more than just humans. Without controlling the species soon, we could dramatically change the populations of other creatures. The tests should be taken further to see if this is a good invention because it could have a significant role in our beloved lakes and rivers.