Thanks to oversea liners dumping contaminated ballast water into the great lakes, there are now 185 non-native species of creatures living in them. Those familiar with the current state of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lakes know that zebra muscles are the worst species that was brought from foreign liners. The creatures are now filling every gap of many lakes surrounding the Great Lakes, and the population is moving inward. The pest now fills virtually every crack of every rock and is eating great lakes plankton and causing species of fish to starve.
The zebra muscles are also clogging industrial and municipal water intake pipes which is costing the state billions. The Great Lakes zebra muscle infestation is moving toward the inland lakes of Michigan and Wisconsin and causing numerous problems with its spread. Beaches becoming overrun with the zebra muscles are injuring swimmers, and laying waste to many of the lakes native populations. The damage to the Great Lakes done by freighters is undeniable and the trade commission does show a desire to fix the problem, but many of the proposals for ships to have a ballast treatment systems installed is simply unreasonable.
Infestations of lakes has brought property value down for the houses surrounding the lakes. Blue and green algae have flourished in the lakes infested with zebra muscles as the plankton that controls the population of algae is being eaten by the zebra muscles. The toxic algae has also flourished because it is said that the excrement of the muscles fertilize the algae.
Zebra muscles are not the only invaders on the way for the Great Lakes, a virus known as VHS which can kill off populations of fish species is said to be on the way along with the larger cousin of the quagga muscle which has spread throughout the bottom of Lake Michigan and threatens everything above it including the prized salmon industry. There is also the round goby which thrives off the eggs of the native fish, and spiny fleas that are difficult for the native fish to eat due to their fitting moniker.
Photo by Dan Egan
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