Can be up to two inches long, but most are under an inch.
ZEBRA MUSSELS Found in Lake Monona
You may have already heard the news that zebra mussels were recently found in Madison’s Lake Monona. The DNR is currently assessing all the Madison lakes to see if they find more mussels. This is bad news for lakes in neighboring areas.
Zebra mussels will attach themselves to boats and can survive out of water for a significant amount of time and still be viable. This means that boaters that use Madison lakes AND Jefferson County lakes can transport and introduce these harmful critters to our county's lakes.
Once introduced to a lake, the mussels quickly reproduce. Some detrimental results are as follows:
They attach to any hard surface (boats, piers, crustaceans), and can clog water intake pipes (for instance any dry hydrants in lakes used for fires). The mussels are also harmful to the lake ecosystem. These filter feeders eat plankton - which can increase water clarity, but small fish, insects, and other animals rely on plankton as a food source. This shortage of food can eventually effect the whole food chain. More info on the zebra mussel is included in the link below.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/invert/zebramussel.htm
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| Identification: Can be up to two inches long, but most are under an inch. |
Boat Transferring Guidelines:
- drain all water from your boat and trailer
including bilges, live wells, bait buckets, and engine compartments.
- inspect all surfaces of your boat that come in
contact with the water, including your boat trailer
- remove any zebra mussels or plant material you
find. Put any zebra mussels you remove in the garbage, not back in the water
- dry boat and equipment in a sunny location for
several days before transferring your boat to a new water system
- If you must transfer your boat to a new body of water in the same day,
thoroughly wash boat and trailer with hot water. A
car wash or similar facility is a convenient way to accomplish this task.
Info for Anglers:
- never take bait or water from one lake and use it in another
- take extra precaution with baitfish. larval zebra mussels could be present in
the water with the bait. If that bait is then used in another lake, the mussels
can be transferred.
Please pass on this message to people who fish and boat in Madison lakes!
Thanks,
Patricia Cicero
Rock Lake Improvement Association