Castanet – August 20, 2018
The Okanagan Basin Water Board is calling for more help to keep invasive mussels out of B.C. waters.
“We are gravely concerned about the impact zebra and quagga mussels would have on the Okanagan and Western Canada,” says board chair Tracy Gray.
The board has written to Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson, reiterating a call for federal funding made in April.
“We need the federal government to take stronger action and help reinforce our defences and contain these mussels where they are at, and work with Western provinces, states, and the U.S. government to protect our waters. We do not want to be in a situation, like we’ve heard from officials in Manitoba and elsewhere, where we are infested with zebra or quagga mussels and regret not doing more to prevent it,” Gray added.