While quagga and zebra mussels have been in the news for several months, most of the concerns have dealt with bodies of water in Southern California where both species of mussels have been found. Many experts say it”s only a matter of time before the invasive mussels are found in lakes in Northern California.
That has now happened.
Zebra mussels are now confirmed to be in San Justo Reservoir in San Benito County. The reservoir is located east of Monterey.
The spread of the mussels are so important that starting Feb. 1 the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) is placing boating restrictions on many of the lakes in its jurisdiction. Boaters from Southern California, San Benito County and Santa Clara County are now banned from Lake Camanche, San Pablo, Briones, Lafayette and Chabot. All other boaters will be required to pass an inspection before they can launch their boats.
The big question is now that EBMUD lakes have been closed to boats from out of the area to prevent the spread of mussels, will other communities follow suit? In other words, could Clear Lake enact boating restrictions in the future?
If boats were banned from Clear Lake it would be devastating to the county”s tourist industry. Thousands of tourists visit the county every summer and most come to fish or to enjoy other water sports on the lake.
According to Pamela Francis, Deputy Director of Lake County Water Resources Division, the ideal situation would be if the county could set up inspection and decontamination stations on the highways that lead into the county. She says that four stations would be able to inspect and decontaminate most of the boats that enter the county. The big stumbling block is the cost. Francis says that each station costs approximately $1 million and the county just doesn”t have that kind of money.
As it now stands at Clear Lake, the lead agency if mussels are ever found here is the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). However, like all state agencies the DFG is being forced to cut its budget and it”s unlikely it could come up with the money needed to fund the four inspection stations. Francis says the other option is for boaters to pay for the inspections with either a yearly sticker or by paying launch fees.
There is no question the mussels are being spread primarily by boats and with Clear Lake being one of the more popular lakes for bass fishermen, it”s only a matter of time before a contaminated boat gets launched into the lake. In fact, many people say the quagga or zebra mussels are probably here already.
In addition to hosting the regular local bass tournament circuits, Clear Lake plays host to a number of national bass tournaments. Starting in March the Vanity Cup will be here. That tournament draws fishermen from throughout the western states. Later this spring FLW-Outdoors will hold a major tournament that draws fishermen from throughout the nation. Many of the fishermen in these tournaments come from mussel-infested areas. Along with the bass boats there are also hundreds of pleasure boats from throughout the West that visit Clear Lake.
If the mussels ever get established at Clear Lake the impact would be enormous. Quagga and zebra mussels feed on phytoplankton, the primary food for the young bass and other game fish. They are filter feeders and feed by pumping water through their digestive systems. A tiny quagga mussel is capable of pumping more than a quart of water through its system each day. When you multiply that by millions of mussels all the plankton in the lake will quickly be used up.
What makes Clear Lake so attractive to the mussels is its rich supply of plankton and the calcium in the water, both of which supply the mussels with required nutrients.
Once these mussels get a foothold in a lake they”re nearly impossible to eradicate. In fact, there has never been a lake where the mussels have been controlled. In addition to devastating the fisheries, the mussels would clog up the water intakes that serve as a source of water for the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake, plus other water districts in the county.
The task for the county is to come up with a viable plan and funding to cope with the mussels. The fishermen also will have to cooperate and inspect their boats. The last thing we want to happen is for the lake to have restricted access or be completely closed.
And it”s not a matter of if the mussels come to Clear Lake, only when.
