Alberta deploys new detection dogs to combat invasive mussels

Alberta is enhancing its defense against invasive mussels by adding two highly trained detection dogs to its K-9 unit. Named Jane and Winnie, these dogs have completed extensive training in the United States to identify Zebra, Quagga, and Golden Mussels, all of which pose a threat to North American waterways.

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The dogs, working alongside watercraft inspectors, use their highly trained sense of smell to detect mussels in hard-to-see areas of boats and shorelines.

The dogs will work alongside watercraft inspectors, utilizing their keen sense of smell to detect mussels in difficult-to-reach areas on boats and shorelines. Their ability to identify mussel larvae by odor allows for inspections in about half the time required by human inspectors, significantly boosting efficiency.

These new recruits join Hilo, a veteran member of the K-9 team with over a decade of service protecting Alberta's waterways. The province emphasizes the rapid spread and detrimental impact of invasive mussels, noting that a single mussel can multiply into trillions within two years, outcompeting native species and damaging infrastructure.

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The dogs can conduct inspections in about half the time it takes human inspectors and can identify mussel odours from microscopic mussel larvae in difficult-to-see areas of boats.

Alberta mandates watercraft inspections at 12 stations from May 1 to September 30. Failure to comply can result in steep fines, including $4,200 for not stopping at an inspection station and $600 for not removing a drain plug. The province currently asserts it is free of zebra and quagga mussels, species that originated in Europe and have spread across Canada and the United States.

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Experts say zebra mussels can spread so rapidly that just one mussel can turn into trillions in just two years.