An article in the Redding Record Searchlight today stated that New Zealand Mud Snails have been found in Lake Shasta. Seems to me this means that they are either already in the Lower Sac or will be
very soon.
I'm really hoping the Sac drainage above Shasta stays clean, but it seems like it is already too late. At this point I'd have a hard time believing that they aren't in many more rivers than we know of already. I hate to sound defeatist, but there's a feeling of inevitability about the whole thing, as if it is only a matter of (a short) time before every major river in the state has them.
At which point I suppose we won't have to freeze/clean our gear so often, but we may not have so much motivation to use our waders anyway.
Anyone hear anything about the Upper Sac, McC, etc?
http://www.../mud-snails-encroaching/
Mud snails encroaching
Anglers asked to dry gear, prevent spread
By Dylan Darling
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
In an effort to stop the spread of a tiny, invasive snail, anglers are being asked to freeze or dry out their waders after a dip at Lake Shasta.
Last month the lake was discovered to be the latest body of water in California where the hardy New Zealand mud snail lives, said Kyle Orr, spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game.
"There is no known way to eradicate them," he said.
So officials are asking for the public's help in preventing them from spreading into new waters.
To do so, anglers should put their waders in a deep freeze, or let them dry out completely, after fishing at Lake Shasta, he said. The small mud snails -- the biggest measures a quarter of an inch -- can survive for weeks in the moist conditions of damp waders.
Boaters should also take time to wash down their hulls after pulling their boats from the water, Orr said. People should check other gear that came in contact with the water, as well as their dogs, for the snails.
First found in the Owens River in Mono County in 2000, the snails have spread -- mostly likely by clinging to people's gear and boats -- to more than 20 other bodies of water in the state, he said.
The mud snails are asexual, meaning they do not need a male or a female to reproduce, so a solitary snail can spring into a robust population.
The mud snails also don't have parasites or predators to keep their numbers in check as they do in their native New Zealand, Orr said, so their population can explode to as many as a million in about 9 square feet of waterway. The snails can survive being eaten by fish because they can pass through their digestive systems alive and unscathed.
The snails are a nuisance because they can cause a drop in the number of bottom-dwelling invertebrates, a food source for native fish, Orr said. This can cause fish numbers to drop as well.
Reporter Dylan Darling can be reached at 225-8266 or at
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