When kept wet, adults can survive for more than a week. This means that they can be transported easily from one region to another. Should your boat or fishing gear have been in an infested area for even a few days it could carry zebra mussels upstream or, by being moved by road, introduce them to another lake or river. Zebra mussels can only be spread upstream and to other areas by boats or fishing gear. All boats including angling boats, houseboats, yachts, cruisers and barges can spread zebra mussels to the upper Shannon, and to the Erne and the Barrow via the canals.
Boats transported between river systems can bring the zebra mussel to new regions.
Recent studies suggest that barges, and private boats which do not regularly slip for hull cleaning, are most likely to spread zebra mussels within waterways. Before you move from the Shannon get a hull inspection. Should it be fouled, arrange to have it cleaned. Fouling reduces the performance of craft so that it pays to remove the shells. It may be impossible to prevent the mussel s eventual spread but it is worthwhile to attempt to control it.