Zap the Zebra

              Have you checked your
boat and trailer for
zebra mussels? If you have
used your fishing boat, sailboat, or personal
watercraft in infested waters (see map), you could
spread zebra mussels. However, always take action
to prevent spread whether you’ve boated on infested
waters or not.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
TO ZAP THE ZEBRA!
Before launching ... Before leaving:
• Remove aquatic plants from boat, motor and trailer.
Check all underwater fittings and equipment (see
diagram below). Put plants in trash if possible.
• Drain lake or river water from your equipment
including the motor, bilges, live wells, bait buckets,
and coolers.
• Dispose of unwanted live bait on shore or in trash.
• Rinse boat and equipment with high pressure or hot
water, especially if moored for more than a day, or
Dry everything for at least 5 days.
rollers axle bilge trailer
anchor live wells dock
The 100th Meridian Initiative
to prevent the westward spread of zebra mussels
www.100thmeridian.org
For personal watercraft:
Impeller areas can contain zebra mussels and aquatic
plants. Once upon the trailer, run the engine for 5-10
seconds to blow out excess water, zebra mussels, and
plants. Before leaving water access, inspect and remove
any zebra mussels or plants from intake, steering nozzle,
hull, and trailer.
ORIGINAL DEVELOPMENT: BOAT/U.S. Clean Water Trust • DESIGN: ION Media DC • ILLUSTRATION:
Steve Raskin and Rob Myers • PHOTOS: Weeds on Boat Trailer - Ladd Johnson, NOAA/Great Lakes
Environmental Research Laboratory • Crayfish - GLSGN Exotic Species Laboratory, Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources • Mussels on Engine - Steve Krynock • Cutaway of Pipe - Don Schloesser,
Great Lakes Science Center, National Biological Service • Zebra Mussels with Pencil - Michel
Istaphanous • MAP: U.S. Geological Survey, revised 2002 • TRAILER DIAGRAM: Minnesota DNR
TRAILERING
WEST?
Protect Your Property and
Our Water Resources
TO STOP THE SPREAD OF ZEBRA MUSSELS
please report any sightings by calling
In the west: 800-437-2744
In the east: 877-786-7267
Zebra mussels are bad news for
boaters. They can:
• Ruin your engine by blocking the cooling system ––
causing overheating.
• Increase drag on the bottom of your boat, reducing
speed and wasting fuel.
• Jam steering equipment on boats.
• Require scraping and repainting of boat bottoms.
• Overwhelm local waters and cover beaches
with thousands of broken shells with sharp edges
–– making these areas unpleasant and smelly!
By taking the steps outlined in this brochure,
you can stop the spread of zebra mussels and other
aquatic invaders that have been introduced into our
waters and harm native plants and animals. Protect
your property and our waters.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CALL TOLL FREE 1-877-STOP-ANS (1-877-786-7267)
ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB http://ANSTaskForce.gov
U.S.
FISH & WILDLIFE
SERVICE
DEPARTMENT OFTHE INTERIOR
IF YOU SEE A ZEBRA MUSSEL, please call:
In the west: 800-437-2744
In the east: 877-786-7267
YOU CAN ZAP THE ZEBRA
MUSSEL AND STOP ITS
WESTWARD SPREAD BY NOT
MOVING WATER, PLANTS, OR
ZEBRA MUSSELS FROM ONE
WATERWAY TO ANOTHER.
Zebra mussels:
• Usually are the size of your fingernail, but can grow up
to 2" (5 cm) long. (See back panel.)
• Commonly have alternating dark and light stripes.
• Produce young that are too small to see with the
naked eye, but newly settled young feel like fine
sandpaper on smooth boat hulls.
• Attach to aquatic plants that can get tangled on
your boat, motor, and trailer.
• As they grow, can be seen on boat hulls, especially
around the trim tabs, transducers, along keels, and
on lower units and propellers.
• Can be found hiding in bilges, live wells and motors.
To prevent further spread of zebra mussels,
a comprehensive prevention partnership called the
”The 100th Meridian Initiative“ including State and
Federal agencies, private industries, and user groups
has been developed. Among other components of the
Initiative, voluntary boat checks are available in the six
States and Manitoba that straddle the 100th Meridian
(100o longitude.) Contact your State resource agency
about the 100th Meridian Initiative and local efforts to
prevent the spread of zebra mussels by boats.
The zebra mussel:
• Damages boat engines.
• Threatens native mussels, fish and wildlife by
consuming available food and smothering native
mussels and crawfish.
• Costs taxpayers millions of dollars by clogging power
plant and public water intakes and pipes (see below).
Since their introduction to the Great Lakes in 1986
in ships’ ballast water, zebra mussels have quickly
spread and are now found in areas of at least twenty
States and two Canadian Provinces.
2002 Map
Zebra mussels found on
trailered boats
Confirmed zebra mussel
sighting
★
100th Meridian
The primary way zebra mussels can spread
westward is on boats trailered by the public or
commercial haulers. Zebra mussels can spread on boat
hulls, in water (as microscopic larvae), and on aquatic
plants. If your boat has been in infested waters for
more than one day, it could be carrying zebra mussels.
A female can release up to one million eggs each
season so transporting just one zebra mussel can spell
trouble for western waters and your boat!