Invasive mussels found on boat during mandatory inspection near Sylvan Lake

Inspectors with the provincial government netted a potential million dollar problem by catching a boat contaminated with an invasive species of musselsbefore it could slip intothe waters of Sylvan Lake on the weekend.

Being dubbed a "close call" by those who stopped the boat, the discovery was made during one of the province's now mandatory inspections.

Transport officersbelievethe boat picked up the mussels from a lake in Ontarioand the boat's owner will not be charged. They will alsodecontaminate the boat withoutcharge

Zebra and quagga mussels arefreshwater mollusks that are difficult to eradicate once introduced to a lake or a river and can alter ecosystems, displacingnative species.

Further complicating the battle is that the invasive mussels can live out of water for up to a month.

To date, there are no known lakes or rivers in Alberta infected by the tenacious mussels, butthe relatively small "hitchhikers"have the potential to be a costly problem if they ever do appear in Alberta waters.

The Alberta government estimates the annual loss to the province at $75 million should the musselssuccessfully invade itslakes and rivers, an amount thatincludespotential revenue loss if lakes become unusable for fishing or recreation.

Dogs the'muscle' behind mussel inspections

Perhaps the biggest threat to Alberta lakes comes from south of the border where the invasive mussels have cropped up in Washington State and Arizona.

The government has run a mussel-inspection station at theCouttsborder crossing inMontanasince 2013, whichhas stoppedseven boats.

Last year the inspection team included three sniffer dogs, rescue dogs from the U.S. trained to detect the mussels.

• Sniffer dogs to keep invasive mussels out of Alberta waterways

The provincial government is now working to train its own permanent team of dogs, including rescue dogs from Edmonton to be its "muscle"in its hunt for mussels.