(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)

Freshwater ecosystems in B.C. are under threat from invasive species and parasites, but the government has scaled back its funding to fight the problem, according to the BC Wildlife Federation.

The conservation organization is calling on both provincial and federal governments to increase spending to combat invasive zebra and quagga mussels, and a new threat, a parasite that carries whirling disease. 

Zebra and quagga mussels have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in eastern Canada and the U.S., according to a wildlife federation media release.

The mussels attach themselves to boats and marine equipment causing damage, they can clog pipes including municipal water intake systems and hydropower equipment. 

The new threat to BC waterways is the microscopic parasite that causes whirling disease.

“States where this parasite becomes established have seen losses as high as 90 per cent in trout and salmon populations,” the federation’s executive director Jesse Zeman said in the release.

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“We need to create a screening and public education program to stop the spread of these invasive parasites in British Columbia.”

The threat from these mussels and parasites is ongoing but the government has reduced spending to prevent them from entering BC waterways.

“The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has reduced its support for mussel surveillance from $475,000 in 2022 to zero in 2023. BC Hydro’s support for the program has dropped steadily since 2020, from $1.25 million to just $350,000. Support from FortisBC has dropped from $250,000 in 2020 to zero in 2023,” the federation said in the release.

Zeman said without more funding these species could cause a lot of damage.

“We have had dozens of close calls in BC in the past few years with mussel-infested boats crossing the border,” he said. “These mussels are the biggest threat known to our freshwater ecosystems; an infestation would be disastrous.

"Between whirling disease and invasive mussels we could realize the collapse of a number of our fisheries. From ensuring securing borders, to conserving our treasured fish stocks, the lack of leadership from the Government of Canada on this issue is astounding.”

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