NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – Zebra mussels have been found in Wisconsin lakes since the 1980s; however, today they’re in over 1,000 of them. 

While zebra mussels make the water appear clearer, experts say their presence isn’t a good thing. Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator Chris Acy with the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance said the invasive shells harm entire ecosystems.

“Zebra mussels cause a large ripple and more blue-green algae in the lake, which impacts our fish population,” Acy said. “Everything is impacted in a lake; it is one giant web.”

On top of an increase in highly toxic blue-green algae, zebra mussels may cause mercury to be on our plates.

“Sometimes we see these zebra mussels because they are filtering water and living at the bottom of the lake, [and] they are accumulating mercury,” Acy said. “If that is getting passed up the food web, it means mercury is getting passed through our food webs as well.”

Zebra mussels have a very high reproduction rate, with female shells producing one million offspring a year. The invasive species then end up on the lake shores, litter the beaches, and residents on Lake Winnebago are suffering the consequences. 

Scott Tummett has been living on the lake shore for over 30 years, and his shoreline has been infested with zebra mussels. Tummett said they wash up on the shore in drifts.

“[The] zebra mussels come in and it’s like a snow drift, and it goes all the way down the beach,” Tummett said. “Then you have to rake them up or level them out.”

After he rakes, they come back.

“[I] them all cleaned up and then spend ‘x’ amount of dollars to get rid of them, and the next day I have to start all over,” Tummett said.

Once in a lake, the zebra mussels are there to stay. Experts urge boaters to wash their equipment and remove any shells after leaving the water to prevent infestation in other lakes. 

Click here to visit the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance website for more tips and information.