Level 1 Training for identifying Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) was held Tuesday morning in Killarney as an incentive by the local lake committee to bring awareness to the threat of unwanted plants, algae and critters to local water bodies.

The Killarney Lake Action Committee invited representatives from surrounding watershed districts and local lake groups to join in on the training session. 

Candace Parks is the AIS Specialist for the Province, working with Agriculture and Resource Development.  Parks led participants on a PowerPoint tutorial followed by a hands-on watercraft inspection challenge.  The display table shared half a dozen of Manitoba’s AIS, including zebra mussels, spiny water fleas, rusty crayfish and black algae.  A small container filled with water and white, bobbing blobs caught everyone’s attention – freshwater jellyfish!

Table display shows zebra mussels inside a pipe, container of freshwater jellyfish, and the silver carp (currently in N Dakota and Minnesota).

The ever so tiny and delicate freshwater jellyfish that swirled around in this vial of water was somewhat startling.  We envision jellyfish in ocean waters, but these translucent and bioluminescent (glow in the dark) beauties can be found in a handful of lakes in the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Accidentally exported from China, freshwater jellyfish can be found in Ontario, BC, Quebec, Minnesota, and now Manitoba.  Researchers are still studying their effects on native habitats.

Travis Sabin is a member of the Pembina Valley Fish Enhancement Club and participated in Tuesday’s session.  Sabin expresses the importance of knowing more about Aquatic Invasive Species, and to share the message of getting into the habit of Clean, Drain, Dry, Dispose and Decontaminate all equipment when leaving any water body.

“There’s a lot more to Aquatic Invasive Species than I was aware of,” he says.  “You hear a lot about the zebra mussels but there’s actually 17 different species of AIS in Manitoba.  We have to take more care and be more cautious.”

Sabin says the most surprising thing he learned about zebra mussels is that you can’t see them in their larval and young adult state.  “You can only see them under a microscope. So, when there's standing water in your boat, and you don’t pull your drain plug, those zebra mussels can be transferred from lake to lake and then they grow and they attach and now they’re in that lake.”

“I think it was a great seminar in Killarney,” he adds, “and it sounds like it’s going to happen yearly, which would be great.  It would be great to get more people out from the different communities just to provide the information.”

AIS Training participants doing a watercraft inspection inside and outside the watercraft.