A UCC researcher has called for mandatory biosecurity measures to curtail the spread of invasive species through Ireland’s waterways.
As The Sunday Independent reports, post-doctoral researcher Dr Neil Coughlan warns the Corbicula clam could pose a serious threat to salmon and trout spawning beds in river systems.
The Corbicula clam is so clever that it resembles gravel on a river bed, and has the ability to reproduce without requiring a mate.
It can also interfere with power plant operation, drinking water abstraction and other industries using raw water.
Dr Coughlan, who has led a recently published study on the species in European waters, says that the vast majority of freshwaters on the island of Ireland are, unfortunately “suitable habitats” for the invasive species.
UCC researcher Dr Neil Coughlan, invasive species expert
“Whereas zebra mussels, another invasive species, need a male and female, one single individual Corbicula clam can produce one long thread of clams which can spread from rivers overland, contaminating equipment,” Dr Coughlan explains.
It was first detected in the river Barrow in April, 2010. It has since spread to the river Nore, and has been discovered on the river Foyle and on the river Shannon where leisure craft can help its distribution.
Working with Queen’s University, Belfast, Coughlan’s UCC research examined invasive freshwater bivalves on the river Seine, upstream of Paris for a paper published in the journal Science of The Total Environment.
Improving biosecurity by thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting equipment – such as angling gear and boats - is the best way to prevent any further spread,” he says, as there has been no successful eradication programme in the world.
Biosecurity is required at some Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) events, but it is not mandatory in Ireland.
Since 2014, an EU regulation targets transportation, exchanging, keeping and releasing of “black-listed” invasive alien species, Dr Coughlan says.
Dr Coughlan says that although national campaigns such as “Check, Clean, Dry” promote best-practice biosecurity protocols, these techniques remain “underutilised, underfinanced, and data-deficient”.
He believes legislation is now required to underpin mandatory controls.
Read more in The Sunday Independent here
