Stonewalled on mussels

Earlier this month, the Okanagan Basin Water Board reminded the public that the battle against invasive mussels hasn't gone away during the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Okanagan-Shuswap MP Mel Arnold, who has been at the forefront of the mussels issue, has weighed in on the matter. He warns of a spike in domestic tourism that may spread the mussels further into the Okanagan.

"Right now there is likely less traffic coming in from out of province since non-essential traffic is discouraged, but once restrictions are lifted, we are probably going to see an increase," says Arnold. "When that happens, we have to make sure the inspection checkpoints are in place to stop the mussels from becoming established here."

The OBWB sent a letter to the province to call for preventative action to be taken, which included pushing mussel-related legislation through and increasing funds for inspection stations.

At the federal level, Arnold says a mandate letter was sent in 2009 to the federal fisheries minister, which directed her to make new investments in marine science, and involved fighting invasive species. But as of 2020, he says there appears to be no delivery in sight, and now due to COVID-19, this year's budget has been delayed.

"Funding for fighting invasive species in British Columbia has been very lax in the past," adds Arnold. "In fact, we've only received about 1.6 per cent of the millions of dollars that have been invested into invasive species in Canada."

Invasive zebra and quagga mussels have a heavy impact environmentally, and they also can be quite costly economically. Precautionary measures are not the cheapest venture, but Arnold warns that reactionary measures will be even costlier.

"The aftermath economic impact is exponentially more expensive than the prevention costs – there have been reports that estimate aftermath costs would be between $40 and $50 million per year on infrastructure maintenance in the Okanagan alone," he says. "The small percentage of funding that has been coming to B.C. for invasive species should be increased, and it would be a good investment in preventing those costs should the mussels move into the area."

Invasive mussels have the potential to wipe out salmon that are returning to the Okanagan water systems, and could negatively impact the entire Fraser system which the Shuswap feeds into.