Endangered freshwater mussels brought back to Canadian waters for 1st time

Endangered freshwater mussels brought back to Canadian waters for 1st time

Nearly 800 kidneyshell mussels released in Medway Creek in London, Ont.

Watch these endangered mussels return home to Canadian waters

Hundreds of endangered mussels were released in the Medway Creek, which connects to the Thames River, in London, Ont., on Wednesday.

It’s the first time in Canada that a freshwater mussel has been brought back to its lost habitat.

“This is a huge milestone. I get a little weepy about this,” said Jason Barnucz, a mussel biologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).

“Today feels like a big event, like a wedding.”

It’s been around 20 years since the endangered mussel has been in the Thames River watershed. The last time it was collected alive in the river was in 2008, but the mussels were not reproductive, said Todd Morris, a research scientist with DFO.

Morris said the species was last found reproductive in the Thames River around 40 to 50 years ago. If all goes well and the new mussels are able to survive in the creek, he hopes they will create offspring over the next year to three years.

“We hope that eventually, these animals form a self-sustaining population here and that they begin to spread,” said Morris.

Mussels crucial to biodiversity

Barnucz said the kidneyshell plays an important role in protecting biodiversity in the Thames watershed. The little creature can filter up to 40 litres of water each day, he said, removing harmful pollutants from the river and providing a healthy habitat for fish and other animals.

The nearly 800 mussels that were brought to the creek were about 11-years-old, and spent their entire lives in captivity before they were released into the wild on Wednesday.

The 11-year-old mussels’ mothers were collected from the Sydenham River, which runs in Chatham-Kent, Lambton County and Middlesex County.

Before the mussels were brought back to Medway Creek, they were only found in two rivers in Canada, the Sydenham River and the Ausable River, which also runs through southwestern Ontario.

The kidneyshell lives for about 30 years.

Local watershed initiatives 'at risk', says UTRCA

Handfuls of volunteers waded into the foot-deep water wearing chest waders, and carefully placed hundreds of mussels on the bottom of the river.

Ontario to consolidate 36 conservation authorities into 9

Brian Petrie, the chair of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA), was also on site when the mussels were released. The UTRCA is one of 36 conservation authorities that will be consolidated into nine by the Ontario government. The new authorities will be operational by 2027.

Petrie said wildlife initiatives across the province must continue to include local knowledge once consolidation happens.

“That local knowledge and that local initiatives across the watershed, and certainly this type of work, may not be considered mandatory by the province,” he said.

“This work is at risk, funding’s at risk, and really, the benefits to our watershed are at risk.”

Jessica Singer is a CBC reporter and radio producer based in Ontario. She previously worked for the CBC in St. John's, N.L. You can reach her at jessica.singer@cbc.ca