Canada: Newly announced federal funding won't prevent the spread of invasive mussels in British Columbia

The government’s new funding announcement does not go far enough to protect BC from invasive mussels, according to the Okanagan Basin Water Board. Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced it's spending $8.75 million to combat the spread of quagga and zebra mussels that could wreak havoc in BC lakes and waterways. The Okanagan Basin Water Board said in a media release issued, Feb. 16, the funding doesn't do enough to actually prevent these mussels from getting into BC. “Although this may sound like a win, and it is a welcome announcement, it does not address recent calls to action made to the federal government, from the water board, Thompson-Okanagan chambers, BC Wildlife Federation, Westbank First Nation, local governments, and others,” the board’s executive director Anna Warwick Sears said in the release. “Most importantly, it does not directly support the prevention of invasive mussels in the west.” The federal government made this announcement earlier this ...