Wildlife Federation is petitioning the federal government for answers and federal funding to deal with invasive mussels just a week after a contaminated boat was intercepted before it could reach the Okanagan. “The federal government has a legal obligation to protect fish and fish habitat, including through the prevention of aquatic invasive species. Invasive mussels, which include both zebra and quagga mussels, are invasive species that have taken root in the Great Lakes after being introduced there in the 1980s. Infestations of these invasive mussels could lead to declines in rainbow trout and kokanee salmon, the BCWF said. Invasive mussels can retain water-borne toxins in their flesh, which exposes the waterfowl and fish that eat them to illnesses such as botulism.