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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here from Used Pontoon Boats with news and views from the boating industry with a story about Mussels on Needles marina in Colorado.
NEEDLES - When boat owners Dick Pyle and Rick Mazzone pulled their boat from the water at the Needles Marina this spring they was shocked by what they found.
Pontoon Boat completely cover in mussels
The entire underside of the 24 foot pontoon boat was covered by small mussels. “We pulled it out and went, oh crimany, oh God.” Pyle said. “I was shocked. I just couldn't believe it.” “It boggled my mind,” said Mazzone. “The whole bottom of the boat was clustered up. I'd never seen that before.”
The Needles residents said they leave their boat in the water year-round and only pull it out once a year for maintenance. When the boat was pulled from the water this time last year, the boat was mostly clean. “Just a little bit of moss,” Pyle said.
This year, however, the pair had to spend four hours removing the encrusted mass of bivalves from under the boat. Pyle's 3,000-lb. spray washer wasn't strong enough to remove the tenacious mollusks, which had to be painstakingly scraped off with a drywall knife.
Mussels problems reported to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The men reported the mollusk infestation to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is trying to keep zebra and quagga mussels from spreading from the eastern U.S. to the West.
Rick Francis, a technician with the California Department of Fish and Game, said that the mussels were quagga mussels, which have become a problem along the Colorado River from Lake Mead to Blythe. “Our area is pretty much getting overrun with quagga mussels,” said Francis.
According to Francis, quagga mussels have been in the Needles area for approximately one year. The mussels in the river can clog drainage pipes, water intakes of water pumps and anything else that might be in the water. The mussels will stick to boats, docks or anything hard. They are hard to see, however, because they prefer to stay in the shade. “If you flipped over some rocks, you'd find little colonies of them,” Francis said. “They're just attracted to very dark places .”
The mussels could be in a lot of places in the area, but are not easily seen from above the water. “You'll never know they're there, until you pull you boat out,” said Francis. Boaters can expect to find mussels on their boats in as little as four to six weeks.
Fish and Game concerned
According to Francis, Fish and Game does not yet know what the mussels could mean for the river. “We're not quite sure what's going to happen,” he said. “We're going to find out, that's for sure, because it's happening at a fast rate.”
The mussels were first discovered in the Colorado River at Lake Mead, and probably transported to the lake in a recreational boat.
Boaters are asked to keep their boats clean to help prevent the spread of the mussels. Boats that are found to have mussels could be quarantined and not allowed to be put into water until inspected by a representative of Fish and Game.
Use wash stations to clean your boat
“I'd recommend that they find a wash station right there in Needles and clean their boat,” said Francis. “Pull your boat out, do your own inspection and get them off.”
Boaters who use the area for short periods of time also need to be concerned about the mussels. Those boaters need to make sure their boats are clean and dry after exiting the water, including live wells and bilge. “That's the most important thing, to clean and dry the boat,” said Francis. “If you've got live wells, open them up and dry them out with a towel. They'll make you do it at the inspection station.”
Francis estimated that the mussels started growing 6-7 weeks after Pyle and Mazzone put their boat in the water. The infestation that the two men had on their boat is common for a boat in the water as long as theirs was. “It's normal now,” said Francis. “Those long term slip renters are guaranteed, in the lower Colorado River area where you are, to have them on their boat.”
Francis warns boat owners against leaving their boat motors in the water, and said that Pyle and Mazzone were lucky that they didn't leave their motor where the mussels could grow inside and cause severe damage.
For more information on invasive mussels, visit the Fish and Wildlife Service Web site at http://www.fws .gov/news/ mussels.html
Thanks to MARK ASHLEY, www.mohavedailynews.com for this.
Used Pontoon Boats, By Rick Ostler
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