Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Zebra mussels found in B.C. aquariums

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Mar, 2021 09:49 PM
  • Zebra mussels found in B.C. aquariums

For years, British Columbia conservation officers have been checking boats coming into the province for invasive zebra mussels, but now it turns out they're coming through local pet stores.

The B.C. government says conservation officers inspected 600 retail aquatic pet and plant stores over the weekend and found the mussels in moss balls at "multiple locations."

The government says in a release that the moss balls are species of green algae purchased by people with aquariums to help improve water quality.

Zebra mussels pose a major threat to B.C. waterways and their rapid expansion crowds out other wildlife and damages ecosystems, pipes and infrastructure.

The government says the moss balls can be disposed of by putting them in a sealed plastic bag and freezing them for 24 hours or in boiling water for at least a minute.

After that, the balls can be thrown in the trash, never flushed or composted, while the aquarium water will also need to be sterilized before it's tossed down the drain.

MORE National ARTICLES

5.6M in funding for drug-dispensing machines

5.6M in funding for drug-dispensing machines
The machines, called MySafe, are similar to ATMs and allow drug users at risk of overdose to get hydromorphone pills dispensed to them after their palm has been scanned.

5.6M in funding for drug-dispensing machines

Ontario waits for guidance as B.C. delays 2nd dose

Ontario waits for guidance as B.C. delays 2nd dose
Alberto Martin, a University of Toronto immunology professor, says a published clinical trial showed the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided 60 per cent protection, but B.C. may have access to new or unpublished data.

Ontario waits for guidance as B.C. delays 2nd dose

Mounties who shot at other RCMP won't face charges

Mounties who shot at other RCMP won't face charges
The Serious Incident Response team concludes the officers who fired their guns had been told the killer was driving a replica police vehicle and was wearing an orange vest, giving them grounds to believe the officer standing beside a patrol car was the murderer.

Mounties who shot at other RCMP won't face charges

Let's prepare for the next pandemic, feds urge

Let's prepare for the next pandemic, feds urge
Grant is taking part in a Wilson Center forum today with U.S. and Mexican officials about the effort to reset the trilateral relationship.

Let's prepare for the next pandemic, feds urge

Canada must ban coal exports, group says

Canada must ban coal exports, group says
Canada is forcing out any coal-fired power plants that aren't equipped with carbon-capture technology by 2030 and Wilkinson told the alliance summit "there is simply no place for unabated coal" in a net-zero emissions world.

Canada must ban coal exports, group says

Giving bank info to U.S. averted catastrophe: feds

Giving bank info to U.S. averted catastrophe: feds
In a newly filed submission to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Canadian government says failure to comply would have had serious effects on Canada's financial sector, its customers and the broader economy.

Giving bank info to U.S. averted catastrophe: feds