A mussel conundrum

no-one in particular · Apr 21, 2016

Thought I would ask this separately from the mussels as bait thread as its a bit off topic.
I fish a canal and all along its bank there were hundreds if not thousands of empty mussel shells along its bank. They were all open and dried out. I could never work this out, otters and mink could be the reason but I have never seen any, one mink I think years ago if i remember rightly. Plenty of Cormorant colonies nearby but i have never seen a cormorant with one in its beak.

greenie62 · Apr 21, 2016

Do you have any goosanders/mergansers around there?

no-one in particular · Apr 21, 2016

greenie62 said:
Do you have any goosanders/mergansers around there?

Nope Greenie, never seen any, northern birds mainly if I am right, this is south.

Hers a picture, they were huge mussels , this one is 5.5 inches.

---------- Post added at 09:04 ---------- Previous post was at 08:47 ----------

Actually Greenie I have just thought of the answer and I do not why I have never realized it, probably just thick. The EA come along and dredge the edge of this canal every-so often, just grubbing out all the bank-side growth, they must scoop hundreds of these up and leave them to die on the bank side at the same time.

Dohhh.

greenie62 · Apr 21, 2016

markg said:
... The EA come along and dredge the edge of this canal every-so often, just grubbing out all the bank-side growth, they must scoop hundreds of these up and leave them to die on the bank side at the same time...

Probably the C&RT - rather than EA - don't think the EA have enough staff to do any fieldwork anymore!

EA may have enough sense to leave the mussels in-situ since they are generally environmentally beneficial - cleaning/purifying water and stabilising mud-beds.

Other culprits could be Canada Geese - they seem to be the main predators of 'Swan' Mussels on local lodges - another bit of environmental hooliganism by these invasive aliens!

mg:

rayner · Apr 21, 2016

I seriously doubt that the EA would dump Swan Mussels if they dredged them from any waterway..
Swan Mussels are a legally protected species that are listed. The EA would never just dump Mussels from a waterway or someone would have to pay the price.
I have no idea why the dead cases are there.
Perhaps an Email to the EA may provide a conclusive answer.

no-one in particular · Apr 21, 2016

Not Canada geese Greenie, never seen them there; there are some Tern and Black headed Gull colonies nearby but I doubt it is them.
The more I think about it I am sure this something to do with the EA, I am pretty sure it is them that do the dredging. They do not actually dredge the main canal, just the edges to clear all the overgrown reed beds but I guess they would manage to scoop these up at the same time.
I first noticed this when I first went there some 20 odd years ago but, I have not noticed it in the last few years but they still dredge the edges every year. Makes me wonder if they have killed them all off. I guess they just open up as they dry out, there were literally hundreds of them laying on the bank in among the reed stubble. I will be visiting this canal through the summer, I will have another closer look at it again.

john step · Apr 21, 2016

Mark, on my local club lake its the coots that bring them out and eat them.

rayner · Apr 22, 2016

markg said:
Not Canada geese Greenie, never seen them there; there are some Tern and Black headed Gull colonies nearby but I doubt it is them.
The more I think about it I am sure this something to do with the EA, I am pretty sure it is them that do the dredging. They do not actually dredge the main canal, just the edges to clear all the overgrown reed beds but I guess they would manage to scoop these up at the same time.
I first noticed this when I first went there some 20 odd years ago but, I have not noticed it in the last few years but they still dredge the edges every year. Makes me wonder if they have killed them all off. I guess they just open up as they dry out, there were literally hundreds of them laying on the bank in among the reed stubble. I will be visiting this canal through the summer, I will have another closer look at it again.

If there are a good few open shells on the bank they have probably just dried and opened as you say.
I would guess that any animal or bird would have to break the shell to get at the meat, that is unless Otters and the like have had lessons in shucking shell fish.
It's difficult to see the EA dredging and leaving mussels on the bank especially with their preservation order in place.
The EA are very good at conservation and I'm sure check on any anomalies that may prevent dredging would have been in place. Mussels would be such an anomaly.
If the EA have made such an error they should be reported to perhaps the Angling Trust or some other conservation types with more clout than them.

A mussel conundrum

no-one in particular

Well-known member

greenie62

Well-known member

no-one in particular

Well-known member

greenie62

Well-known member

rayner

Well-known member

no-one in particular

Well-known member

john step

Well-known member

rayner

Well-known member