MA bill enforces invasive-species decontamination for boats

February 2, 2012

An ocean-current meter encrusted with zebra mussels

The Massachusetts House is poised to approve legislation that implements fines of up to $1000 for boaters who fail to follow decontamination procedures to prevent the spread of invasive species like the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). The mussels have been a major threat to the state since they infested Laurel Lake in Berkshire County in 2009.

“‘Eventually they clear all the food out of a lake, and everything else will die,’ said Jack Hickey, president of the Lakes and Pond Association of Western Massachusetts.

State environmental officials believe that zebra mussels and other damaging aquatic species are brought in from neighboring states when boaters do not properly clean and decontaminate their vessels before putting them into Massachusetts waters.”

Read the full Boston Globe article here.

Tagged as: aquatic, legislation, Massachusetts, mussels

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Land

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Sea

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Field Notes

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“Most of us eat only what we know. It’s time to put on our boots (or our sneakers) and look around.”

—Jane Kramer in The New Yorker

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