On Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:10:37 -0400, H the K
wrote:

Frogwatch wrote:
On Jul 17, 11:45 am, H the K wrote:
Frogwatch wrote:
On Jul 17, 10:25 am, Richard Casady
wrote:
On Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:12:56 -0500, thunder
wrote:
On Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:37:20 -0700, Tim wrote:
Could they become a new fresh water plague?
Not that I would suggest tampering with an ecosystem, but Zebra Mussels
are not without some positive aspects. Their filtering capabilities can
improve water quality and clarity. There are reports of areas where the
smallmouth, perch, and even salmon fishing has improved after Zebra
Mussel infestations.
http://seapics.com/feature-subject/m.../zebra-mussel-
pictures.html
What eats them? So many acres of sunlit water will produce x tons of
plants which will support y tons of animals. It is looking like, some
places, all the animals will be mussels, and no fish whatever.
Casady
From Wiki:
"In terms of reproduction, zebra mussels are among the most prolific
of all animals. An adult female Zebra mussel may produce between
30,000 and 1 million[3] eggs per year. Spawning usually begins in the
months from late spring to early summer by free-swimming larvae
(veligers)."
So, why not take advantage of this source of protein by harvesting
them or even growing them. Take them off whatever they grow on, grind
em up and use the result in animal feed.
Or serve them as a delicacy in really crappy rednecky restaurants? With
barbecue sauce, of course.

Harry:

We used to make "Periwinkle soup" made from coquinas we seived from
the beach sand boiled with milk and then strained to remove the sand.

What?

Coquina is empty shells, right? A few hundred yards off the beaches of
St. Augustine were miles of coquina under the surface. Pretty decent
fishing grounds, actually. You made soup from empty shells?

Did it taste like...chicken?

It's a type of clam - you may know them as bean clams.

Make good snapper bait.