A single Zebra Mussel. (ID 40230555 © Viter8 | Dreamstime.com)
Raising awareness

Ministry of Environment looking to protect Saskatchewan waters from invasive species

May 15, 2025 | 6:00 AM

For many in Saskatchewan, the May Long weekend is the official kickoff to summer in the province, and that often means heading out to the lake either camping or hitting the water. That also brings the focus on protecting Saskatchewan lakes and waterways from invasive species, and there are a number of them that the Ministry of Environment is keeping an eye on.

The province has done a good job in keeping invasive water species out of Saskatchewan lakes and waterways, while the provinces surrounding Saskatchewan are having to deal with the fallout of species like Zebra and Quagga mussels.

Paige Gilchrist is an aquatic invasive species ecologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Last year, six boats entering Saskatchewan were found to be carrying invasive mussels, along with another 250 watercrafts that were decontaminated on a precautionary basis, but they were all caught before entering Saskatchewan waters.

“Thankfully the news from last year again was very positive that we didn’t detect any invasive Zebra or Quagga mussels in any of our waters in Saskatchewan, but unfortunately they have spread to quite a few water bodies within some of the provinces and states where they had already established populations, so really close by like Manitoba and North Dakota, just for example.”

Whether you take your boat or kayak out of province or not, the Ministry of Environment encourages people to follow the Clean, Drain, and Dry guidelines to prevent any sort of invasive species or waterborne diseases from spreading to other water bodies. While cleaning your boat from mud or plants is important, and it’s the law to have the plug taken out of your boat while transporting in Saskatchewan, the drying aspect is the most important in preventing the spread of invasive mussels.

“Drying is the most important piece. A lot of the aquatic invasive species, especially Zebra and Quagga mussels, can live outside of the water for up to 30 days, so we really want to make sure that folks are spending a couple extra minutes with a either a shammy towel or a sponge to dry up any of that moisture that could be remaining.”

While most cases of Zebra and Quagga mussels have been found on motorized boats, it’s also important to properly check over self-propelled watercraft like kayaks and canoes. Both Zebra and Quagga mussels are quite small, with their larval stage invisible to the naked eye, so even a small watercraft can pose a risk if not properly checked over.

“Last year was actually the first time that we did have a muscle found on a kayak, and so I think that a lot of people don’t think that kayaks and canoes and paddle boards and simple watercraft like that pose a risk, but they certainly do. If they’re spending time in the water and getting wet, it’s definitely a risk of spreading Zebra and Quagga mussels or any type of aquatic invasive species.”

As for what these mussels do, they can reproduce at a massive rate and cut off food supplies to native species. While there are types of muscles that are native to Saskatchewan, what separates Zebra and Quagga mussels is their ability to cling to nearly any hard surface, like water intakes for hydropower, irrigation, or drinking water. They then clog up these intakes, and because they can reproduce so quickly, they can cause millions of dollars worth of damage.

Zebra mussels tend to be on the smaller side and prefer shallower waters with a moving current, while Quagga mussels are larger, rounder, and will stick to deeper waters.

“Both the Zebra and Quagga mussels are able to reproduce very, very rapidly. One muscle can lay thousands or even up to a million eggs in their lifetime. So they’re really easily then able to outcompete our native species. They filter a lot of the food that are native species need to survive like the good algae and the good zooplankton that our smaller fish need to eat, and once they get in since they are able to reproduce so rapidly, it’s almost impossible unfortunately to get rid of them and eradicate them.”

As an example, Zebra mussels were found in Clear Lake, the largest body of water in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, and in only 14 months their numbers have grown so much that it’s impossible to eradicate them even after an effort to contain them to one underwater cove in the lake.

Zebra and Quagga mussels aren’t the only invasive species raising red flags for the Ministry of Environment, though. If you plan to do any fishing in other provinces this year, make sure to check your fishing gear for what looks like a gelatinous blob, otherwise known as the Spiny Water Flea.

“It’s got a long, tiny tail on it and a dark black eye spot. One of the ways that it becomes invasive is that since it has that long, spiny tail, there aren’t a lot of species that prey upon it. So fish and waterfowl, they don’t particularly like to eat the Spiny Water Flea because of those long spines, and so it comes in, nothing’s feeding on it, but it’s feeding on a lot of our zooplankton that our native species like.”

The Spiny Water Flea can find their way onto boats, but because of their spiny tails, they typically get caught on fishing lines and nets, and that’s how they manage to spread to other water bodies. They are currently in Manitoba as well, so the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is keeping a close eye on their spread.

Another threat to Saskatchewan waterways is not an animal at all, but a disease that has been affecting spots in British Columbia. Whirling Disease has been found affecting wild fish in B.C., causing deformities in fish so that they swim in a circular pattern that makes it difficult to feed, avoid predators, and causes long-term injuries to fish that never heal.

The Ministry of Environment isn’t monitoring it as closely as the other invasive species for a number of reasons: it isn’t threatening Saskatchewan just yet, and there are other organizations monitoring it, such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. That said, if you do plan to take a boat out to the mountains this year, knowing how Whirling Disease can spread is important.

“It definitely can be spread through activities like boating and fishing. One of the main things to know is that B.C. and Alberta both have control zones within their legislation. Now, when you’re leaving an area that has Whirling Disease, they have their own set of guidelines and decontamination standards within their specific provinces that have to be followed, but certainly equipment like waders and fishing gear for people being in the lakes and rivers fishing, since Whirling Disease is actually spread by a spore that would be within the water and within the mud. And so any type of movement of mud that could be on your wader or water from your equipment being wet and the movement of the fish as well is really how it’s spread and thankfully we haven’t detected it here in Saskatchewan.”

nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

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