Add another lake in South Dakota to the list of those infested with zebra mussels.
This week, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks confirmed the presence of adult zebra mussels in Lake Kampeska at Watertown.
Regional fisheries manager Mark Ermer says GFP received a call Sunday from a resident on the southeast side of the lake, who then sent the staff person a photo. Ermer says it was identified as a zebra mussel, which was confirmed by an in-person inspection yesterday. Zebra mussels were also found in six other sites surveyed around Lake Kampeska.
Specific decontamination requirements exist for boats kept in infested waters continuously for three or more days, or that cannot have all water drained from them. Every time they leave the water, all boaters and anglers should:
- Clean watercraft and trailers of all aquatic plants and mud.
- Drain all water by removing all drains, plugs, bailers, or valves that retain water.
- Dispose of unwanted bait in trash or fish cleaning stations when leaving the water.
Reproducing populations of zebra mussels were first discovered in South Dakota in 2015 in Lewis and Clark Lake and in the Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam in 2015.
For more information on zebra mussels or other aquatic invasive species, including a map of infested bodies of water, visit sdleastwanted.com.
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