SLOVENIA: An invasive species of freshwater mussel, known as the 'Zebra Mussel', has become somewhat of a nuisance at one of Slovenia's top tourist spots

Record ID: 645012

  • Title: SLOVENIA: An invasive species of freshwater mussel, known as the 'Zebra Mussel', has become somewhat of a nuisance at one of Slovenia's top tourist spots
  • Date: 5th April 2013
  • Summary: BLED, SLOVENIA (APRIL 4, 2013) (REUTERS) DIVER SHOWING ROCK WITH ZEBRA MUSSEL ROCK WITH ZEBRA MUSSEL IN BOAT
  • Embargoed: 20th April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Slovenia
  • Country: Slovenia
  • Topics: Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVABRW8AQOIYJGFN45ZOQT7M6B66
  • Story Text: An invasive type of freshwater shell is threatening Lake Bled in Slovenia, one of the most popular tourist spots in the country.
    The lake, located some 55 kilometres from the capital Ljubljana and known for its scenery and pristine nature, found itself under threat of invasion from zebra mussels, a tiny type of freshwater mussel native to Russia.
    The mussels were first spotted in 2010, and according to the Slovenian environmental agency, they were most likely introduced via boats and fishing equipment brought by tourists.
    Zebra mussels are known for sticking to hard underwater surfaces and since they don't have any natural predators in the local ecosystem, the only way to remove them is by hand, which is done by divers.

    "We will try to limit the presence of zebra mussels in Lake Bled as much as possible. The fact is that they appeared here and that we need to take care that they reproduce as little as possible. The only way to do that is to remove existing colonies and on the other hand raise awareness with the public, visitors and other people using the lake, so that we can stop the mussels' reintroduction into the lake," chief of the Bled municipality, Matjaz Bercon, said.
    The divers who undertook the task of controlling the shell population come from the local Bled Underwater Association, which has already cleaned up about one fifth of the lake.

    "We have already done about one fifth of the lake, we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, we will certainly do our best so that the tourist and swimming season are not jeopardised (by zebra mussels)," diver Rok Lesjak said.
    Controlling the zebra mussel population is seen as paramount to the preservation of local wildlife, as well as Bled's reputation as a popular tourist spot, since they are small and sharp, often causing cuts to uninformed swimmers.

    "If we did not supervise the number of zebra shells, they could eventually overrun the entire coast, all coastal buildings, which certainly is not in our best interest. And in those conditions, it would certainly influence the entire ecosystem," biologist Spela Remec Rekar said.

    "The absence of competitive organisms is the thing that gives them (zebra mussel) the opportunity to grow, because it is empty space, that hard bottom (of the lake). None of our native shells attach themselves to hard surfaces, and neither do other organisms, which makes it (zebra shell) unique," Rekar added.
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