The Manitoba government is notifying boaters who use Lake Manitoba to follow newly required steps to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species following the detection of zebra mussels at Lake Manitoba Narrows, located one hour east of Dauphin.
Zebra mussels are an aquatic invasive species that can impact ecosystems and native fish populations, clog water intakes, litter beaches and shorelines with shells, and foul watercraft and their engines.
Ralph Eichler, Agriculture and Resource Development Minister is asking Manitobans to buy into these prevention efforts:
“We know that Manitobans support our effort to prevent the spread of AIS, and most boaters are responsible about following the steps to clean, drain, dry and decontaminate their equipment. We need to ensure boaters and all surface water users get on board with protecting our environment and help contain the new finding of zebra mussels in Lake Manitoba.”
Zebra mussels were detected in nine water samples collected from Lake Manitoba Narrows through monitoring conducted by the province in July 2021. This indicates there could be a reproducing population of zebra mussels in Lake Manitoba.
Watercraft or water-related equipment in Lake Manitoba must now be decontaminated before being placed into another body of water.
Lake Manitoba water users will see new signage around the lake and at high-traffic access points such as boat launches, advising them of this crucial new requirement.
The province will be doing additional monitoring to determine the extent of the zebra mussel infestation, and those results will guide future steps.
