Mandatory inspection of boats to start June 1
By Lethbridge Herald on May 21, 2025.
Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald
All watercraft being brought into Alberta will be subject to mandatory inspections starting June 1 for invasive mussles.
The province is launching the inspections for anyone travelling across the southern or eastern borders with a boat, kayak, jet ski or other watercraft to prevent zebra and quagga mussels entering Alberta waterways.
The province says zebra mussels alone cause up to $500 million in damages annually in the Great Lakes region to power plants, industrial water intakes and water systems.
The damages could be costly to Alberta with one study showing potential annual damage of $284 million if invasive mussels were introduced to just Lake McGregor.
“I’m proud to support our government’s commitment to keep protecting Alberta’s waterways and water infrastructure. These mandatory stops are part of a broader plan to safeguard our province against environmentally and financially devasting aquatic invasive species. Ensuring mandatory inspections further strengthens our mission to catch and stop any invasive mussel trying to enter our province,” said Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter, who is chair of the aquatic invasive species task force, in a statement.
The inspections will run until Sept. 30 for all motorized and non-motorized watercraft whose owners will be issued with a proof-of-inspection sticker to be displayed. Failure to stop for an inspection could cost a person a fine of $4,200.
Last year, when 13,408 inspections were done 15 watercraft were confirmed positive for invasive mussels.
In 2024, Parks Canada took steps to prevent the spread of both invasive aquatic species and the deadly whirling disease into Waterton Lakes, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.
Starting April 1 in 2024, non-motorized watercraft from outside park boundaries weren’t permitted to enter water bodies within Waterton Lakes and angling for all species was banned from flowing waters in the park.
Waterton is the headwaters of the Waterton River feeding into the Oldman River and the broader South Saskatchewan River watershed .
Whirling disease is present downstream of the Waterton dam and in 2023, it was detected for the first time in park boundaries within the Belly River.
On Oct. 27 of 2023 Parks Canada closed all water access in Yoho and Kootenay national parks following the discovery of a suspected case of whirling disease in Emerald Lake in B.C. Whirling disease, which has no treatment, can reach mortality rates of 90 per cent in young fish.
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