Lake Manitoba fisherman concerned for future of fishery after discovery of zebra mussels

A longtime commercial ice fisher is concerned for his livelihood and the future of the fishery after the province announced juvenile zebra mussels were discovered in Lake Manitoba's narrows last month.

The presence of the young mussels were detected in nine water samples at the narrows, the part of the lake that separates the south basin from the north basin.

The discovery suggests there could be a reproducing population of the invasive species in Lake Manitoba, the province said in a news release on Tuesday.

That is deeply concerning for Allan Gaudry, who serves as the president of the Lake Manitoba Commercial Fishermen's Association and has been fishing on the lake for 20 years.

"I was kind of surprised and shocked at the discovery of zebra mussels in our lake. We've heard about Lake Winnipeg and other lakes getting zebra mussels, but I thought everybody's doing their thing, cleaning and making sure that it doesn't get spread," he said.

"But obviously there's cracks in the system because now we're invaded with this invasive species."

Fishing is important in Gaudry's family. His brothers, nephews and cousins are all part of Lake Manitoba's commercial fishery, which he estimates is roughly a $5-million a year industry.

"I'm concerned for the future of our fishery.... Are we going to still have a fishery? Is it going to be still sustainable to raise our families? What's going to happen in the future? That's our concern now. We don't know what the future holds with this contamination," he said.

The fisherman has seen the impact of zebra mussels on other bodies of water, including neighbouring Lake Winnipeg, which has been devastated by algae blooms and the invasive species.

Zebra mussels have colonized the Great Lakes and the Red River/Lake Winnipeg drainage system.

They coat surfaces and can clog water pipes. They also have choked out native species in some places, and their shells litter beaches.

The province says all watercraft or water-related equipment in Lake Manitoba must now be decontaminated before being placed into another water body. New signage will be placed around the lake advising people to do so.

Gaudry wants to see the province collect a fee from boaters to cover the cost of decontaminating the lake.

In the meantime, he said he'll work with the roughly 450 commercial fishers on the lake to be extra careful.

"We'll advise our fishermen to monitor the lake as they walk along the shores or when they check their gear in the winter to see if there are signs of zebra [mussels]," he said.

"We have to find out how far and wide this thing has spread."