Invasive Mussel Defence Program

The B.C. Invasive Mussel Defence Program’s goal is to prevent the introduction of zebra and quagga mussels (ZQM) into B.C. The program’s prevention efforts are focused on inspecting boats, monitoring lakes, educating the public and coordinating actions with neighbouring jurisdictions. 

The Invasive Mussel Defence Program (IMDP) was created in 2015 and has three main components:

• A watercraft inspection program to detect and respond to high-risk watercraft potentially transporting invasive mussels into B.C. from infested lakes or rivers
• Lake monitoring to confirm the continued absence of invasive mussels in B.C. waters
• Outreach and education to educate people and change behaviour by promoting the message of "clean, drain, dry" to the boating community, in collaboration with partners

Provincial legislation gives the Province authority to take action on ZQM. The Controlled Alien Species (CAS) Regulation under the Wildlife Act is the principle legislation that defines, lists, and affords provisions to regulate invasive mussels in B.C. 

Under the CAS Regulation, prohibitions apply to any mussel listed in Schedule 4 (Zebra, Quagga, and Conrad’s False Mussel). Specifically, it is illegal for a person to: 

• possess, breed, ship, or transport prohibited mussels
• release prohibited mussels into B.C. waters
• allow a prohibited mussel to be released or escape into B.C. waters

Inspectors are trained in the watercraft inspection program and have been designated as auxiliary conservation officers under the Environmental Management Act. This designation provides powers to stop, inspect, search, question, and give decontamination orders. See the Zebra and Quagga Mussel Early Detection and Rapid Response (ZQM EDRR) Plan (PDF) for more information on the CAS Regulation and ZQM.

2015-2023 Watercraft Inspection Seasons

The provincial Invasive Mussel Defence Program was launched in 2015. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) delivers the IMDP in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy’s Conservation Officer Service (COS). The IMDP would like to recognize the support provided by program’s founding partners: the Columbia Basin Trust, the Columbia Power Corporation, BC Hydro and Fortis BC that makes this program possible. The annual program workplan incorporates ongoing feedback from partners, the public, and jurisdictions across western Canada and the United States to ensure funding allocations maximize program effectiveness. Results and lessons learned from previous inspections seasons are available in the Program reports posted below.

B.C. Invasive Mussel Defence Program Operations from 2015-2023

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Inspection Stations	Roving	8	10	12	12	9 (2 roving)	7 (2 roving)	6 (2 roving)	6 (2 roving)
Number of Inspectors	12	32	65	64	64	37	45	32	43
Hours of Operation	5 days/week, 7 hrs/day	7 days/week, 10 hrs/day	9 stations dawn-dusk, 7 days/week; 1 station 24hrs	5 stations dawn-dusk; 6 stations 10hrs/day; 1 station 24hrs	4 stations dawn-dusk; 7 stations 10hrs/day; 1 station 24 hrs	9 stations dawn to dusk, 10hrs/day	Dawn to dusk; 10 hrs/day; 1 station 24 hrs	10hrs/day; dawn to dusk	10hrs/day; dawn to dusk
Inspection Season	June to October	April to Sept/Oct	April/June to mid-November	March/May to late October	March/May to late October	May 15 to October 25	April/May to Oct	April/May to Oct	March to December

Watercraft Inspection Findings for the 2015-2023 Seasons of the B.C. Invasive Mussel Defence Program

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Total Watercraft Inspected	4,350	24,500	35,500	40,700	52,000	29,900	33,300	20,100	20,900
Number of People Interacted With	~10,000	~50,000	72,300	78,600	95,000	55,900	61,600	36,400	39,300
High Risk Inspections	70	685	2,071	1,652	1,290	158	244	122	155
Mussel Fouled Boats	15	17	25	25	22	16	17	13	14

Resources

2024

• 2024 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report
• 2024 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)

2023

• 2023 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF)

• 2023 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)

• 2023 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Final Report (PDF)

2022

• 2022 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF) 
• 2022 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)
• 2022 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Final Report (PDF)

2021

• 2021 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)
• 2021 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF) 
• 2021 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Final Report (PDF)

2020

• 2020 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)
• 2020 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF) 
• 2020 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Final Report (PDF)

2019

• 2019 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Spring Status Report (PDF)
• 2019 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)
• 2019 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF)
• 2019 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Final Report (PDF)

2018

• 2018 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Spring Status Report (PDF)
• 2018 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summer Status Report (PDF)
• 2018 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF)
• 2018 Watercraft Inspection Season Final Report (PDF)

2017

• 2017 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Mid Season Status Report (PDF)
• 2017 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Fall Status Report (PDF)
• 2017 Invasive Mussel Defence Program Interim Final Report (PDF)
• 2017 Watercraft Inspection Season Final Report (PDF)

2016

• Monthly Status Reports: May (PDF) / June (PDF) / July (PDF) / August (PDF) / September (PDF) / Final Status Report (PDF)
• 2016 Watercraft Inspection Season Final Report (PDF)

2015

• 2015 Watercraft Inspection Season Final Report (PDF)
• 2015 Zebra and Quagga Mussel Early Detection Rapid Response Plan (PDF)

Program Funders

Aquatic Invasive Species K9 Unit

In 2017, the program started the Aquatic Invasive Species K9 unit. The first of B.C.’s multipurpose detection dogs was Kilo. The primary handler of Kilo is Sergeant Dan Bartol within the Conservation Officer Service (COS). Kilo is trained to detect invasive mussels, firearms and bear parts, and helps in evidence recovery cases within the Conservation Officer Service. 

In the fall of 2018, a second multipurpose detection dog, called Major, joined the K9 unit. Major is a German shepherd whose primary handler is Sergeant Denny Chretien. These dogs are valuable tools for detecting invasive mussels on watercraft travelling through and into B.C.

Photographs of the K9 unit, Kilo and Major