Alberta raises fines in crackdown on invasive aquatic species

Alberta is multiplying its fines for breaching regulations around boat inspections in an effort to crack down on invasive aquatic species such as quagga and zebra mussels that affect several aspects of our lives from agriculture to drinking water.

“These species wreak havoc wherever they go,” Alberta Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz said in a news conference Wednesday.

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“They outcompete native species, leaving our fish and wildlife struggling to survive. They clog pipes and damage boats costing us millions of dollars in repairs, and they threaten industries like fishing, agriculture and tourism, putting jobs and our local economies at risk.”

Schulz added the province is currently free from those two species. However, more instances have been recorded across Canada and the U.S. as the province intercepted eight contaminated watercrafts, mainly from Ontario and eastern Canada.

As a result, the province is raising its fines for not removing a bilge plug when transporting a watercraft from $180 to $600 and for failing to stop at an open inspection station from $324 to $4,200.

“These are the highest fines anywhere in North America,” Schulz added.

Why such a steep jump in fines? Schulz reasoned the stakes are high.

“Just one boat carrying invasive mussels can put an entire aquatic ecosystem at risk and lead to millions of dollars in damage to irrigation infrastructure, and of course to our waterways.”

She cited a recent study that estimated the damage inflicted by mussels if they were introduced into Lake MacGregor to be $284 million — “and that is just one lake.”

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She also added the province has created a task force on invasive aquatic species, which would hold its first meeting Wednesday.

UCP MLAs Rebecca Schulz and Grant Hunter are shown at McDougall Centre in Calgary on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Schulz announced increased action to protect Alberta from aquatic invasive species and will use a theme similar to a former “rats” theme. Jim Wells/Postmedia

MLA Grant Hunter, present at the conference, highlighted the dangers of having these species enter the province’s irrigation system.

“It would be almost impossible to get them out . . . and there is no quantum for the costs of cleaning up the irrigation system,” he said.

Patrick Hanington, who teaches public health at the University of Alberta, said the province is interested in two of the species’ primary lifecycle stages. One would be an adult mussel, the size of one’s fingernail, and another would be in its larval stage, which Hanington said is microscopic.

“So that’s why the inspection stations will help clean the boats with steam or something like that to help make sure that those (species), which are invisible to the naked eye, are killed before they put the boat back in the water,” he said.

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