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Adult Zebra Mussel Found at Fargo Water Intake

by NDGFD


Friday, July 10, 2015

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has confirmed that an adult zebra mussel was found on an intake screen at the city water plant in Fargo, according to Fred Ryckman, aquatic nuisance species coordinator for the agency.

Fargo city employees discovered the mussel while inspecting some of their Red River intake structures Thursday afternoon, said Troy Hall, water utility director for the city of Fargo. The species was confirmed as a zebra mussel early Friday afternoon. 

Game and Fish had confirmed the presence of large numbers of zebra mussel veligers or larvae at several locations along the Red River earlier in the week, and this is the first documented adult zebra mussel collected in North Dakota waters.

Game and Fish and other stakeholders will continue to monitor areas of the Red River to gauge the presence and impact.

Now more than ever, Ryckman said it is imperative that all Red River water users, including recreationists, adhere to all rules and regulations regarding ANS.

“As we have said in the past, there is often little that can be done once a body of water becomes infested with an aquatic nuisance species,” Ryckman added. “However, we can prevent them from being moved from the infested water body to waters that aren’t infested.”

More information on zebra mussels, other aquatic nuisance species and related regulations is available on the Game and Fish website at gf.nd.gov/ans.