Invasive Species Alert for Labor Day Boaters

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published August 29, 2008 at 7:36 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

Before you power up the boat this Labor Day weekend, state officials have some advice -- be sure to clean and drain the vessel before heading to the water. As KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce explains, a tiny

Before you power up the boat this Labor Day weekend, state officials have some advice -- be sure to clean and drain the vessel before heading to the water. As KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce explains, a tiny invasive shellfish has become a big problem.

Two destructive species of mussels can attach to boat trailers, cooling systems, boat hulls and steering equipment.

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One species - the quaqqa mussel - was found in several San Diego county lakes and reservoirs last year.

The mussels have also been found in the aqueduct that delivers water to Southern California from the Colorado River.

The tiny shellfish can clog waterlines and hurt water quality.

Boaters are being asked to wash boat hulls, remove plants and drain all watercraft for five days before launching in different bodies of water.

Quagga mussels from the Ukraine were first found in the Colorado River system last year and later in Southern California.

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Zebra mussels from Europe were found in a San Benito County reservoir in January.

Federal officials are worried the mussels could threaten endangered fish and limited water supplies in our region.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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