Clean your boats to avoid spread of invasive species, says expert

An invasive species expert is asking boat owners to thoroughly clean their vessels to stop the spread of an introduced freshwater plant.

Eurasian milfoil has been reported in the St. John River and the Madawaska River in New Brunswick, and there's been a possible sighting in P.E.I. as well.

Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill is a research scientist with Agriculture Canada, and the chair of the P.E.I. Invasive Species Council. Invasive plant management is part of his research.

Eurasian milfoil has long stems with an array of leaves, he said.

"It forms these really, really dense mats that can block sunlight from getting through the water. So underneath that mat, there'll be no light there for other plants to grow."

Drain bilge pumps

When the plant dies, it can reduce oxygen levels in the water as well.

Boat owners should always drain their bilge pumps and wash the boat down thoroughly when moving it from one body of water to another, he said.

"If you have a fragment of that milfoil stuck to your propeller or the side of your boat and you don't notice it or anything and then drop it in another lake, then you've spread it," said McKenzie-Gopsill.

'It's probably just going to regrow'

"And if that is still alive or is able to grow from that plant fragment, then you've kinda potentially infected that water body with that plant."

The plant is very hard to remove once it spreads, he said.

"There's efforts to remove things like purple loosestrife that rely on going out there and pulling it, but in the long run, that probably isn't going to be the most successful because unless you get that entire root fragment, it's probably just going to regrow."

Many not aware of the danger

Some people are aware of the invasive species and clean out their boats, but others aren't, McKenzie-Gopsill said.

"A lot of people just don't know about the dangers and why they should be doing that."

He compared it to the spread of Dutch elm disease through firewood.

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