River Trout Trouble
Tiny snail could be big trouble for river trout and other fish
“They do eat algae sediment, plant and animal detritus, the little stuff that’s on the bottom of the rivers and streams. That is the same kind of material that
native snails and also insect larvae eat. Those insect larvae are also the food for some of our best game fish”
This map shows how the snail migrated from Idaho to Michigan and the time frame.
A tiny snail is making its way from New Zealand into Michigan waterways.
The invasive New Zealand Mud Snail first showed up in Idaho’s Snake River during the late 1980’s. It has slowly made its way into three Michigan Rivers.
Joanne Foreman is the Invasive Species Communications Coordinator for the state Department of Natural Resources.
She tells WDET’s Amy Miller the snail, like most invasive species, has potential to threaten fish populations including trout.
This video explains how to identify the mud snail:
