When Patricia Mombourquette was preparing to swim in Lake Micmac last week, it was received by a stench in poor condition and the unpleasant presence of hundreds of dead snails that had floated on the surface.
What initially looked like small black points and a film in the lake was probably an invasive species known as the Chinese mysterious snail, which is also called a spin’s snail.
“It is a bidded smell that is nauseabundo,” said Mombourchette, who has only been living in his property of Lake Dartmouth, NS, for a few months.
The New Scotland Invasive Species Council says it has been receiving More reports lately from the Chinese mysterious snail appear in ponds and lakes.
The snails probably made their way in the native ecosystems when they were released in lakes and ponds by the guardians of the aquarium that try to get rid of them. A single female can give birth to more than one hundred baby snails, so the population grows rapidly.
The introduction of aquatic species in ponds and lakes is illegal under the federal regulations of aquatic invasive species.
Mombourquette contacted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to inform the incident.
In a statement to CBC News, DFO said that mass mortality events are common for mysterious Chinese snails in fresh water environments with large populations.
“Mortality events can also be caused by environmental conditions, such as low levels of oxygen, fluctuations in water temperatures and other factors,” he said. “DFO does not expect any long -term environmental impact after this mortality event.”
He said that the decomposition of snails is what the stench is causing.
Mombourchette said he was not sure if this experience was something recurring, so he asked his neighbor, Louise Jessome.
“I had never seen it before and … I’ve been in that lake for 48 years,” Jessome said.
She waited to see if the smell and snails would disappear on her own. But on Friday, Jessome took the matter in his own hands.
Armed with gloves, a garbage bag and its boat, went to the dock to remove the snails. After 30 minutes, he had filled a third of the bag, but more snails were still floating in the lake.
“It’s just rotten fish, how it smells,” said Jessome.
