The lakes, creeks and tributaries in eastern
At the same time, non-motorized watercraft from outside park boundaries will not be allowed into
"They can pick up things like mud, sand and sediments, plant fragments," she said.
"And if their equipment is not cleaned of all of that, drained of any standing water, and dried for a certain amount of time, then that poses a big risk of transferring aquatic organisms … between water bodies."
Access was first restricted for five months last October, and
Goulet said staff will be monitoring the parks and anyone found breaking the rules could face a fine of up to
There's no treatment specifically for whirling disease, Goulet said, and removing the diseased fish from the water system is not feasible.
She said officials are gathering more information before deciding what's next.
"Other jurisdictions have either decided to let the infection play out and see if a natural resistance does build up in the fish, or, in some places where they've seen population decline in the States, they've actually restocked with trout that have a resistance that have been bred in hatcheries," she said.
"I don't know if we would ever go that route in parks."
He said invasive zebra and quagga mussels that are present in other Canadian and
He said if infestations start, they can cost millions to control.
Marshall said a mandatory inspection station for non-motorized boats has been operating since 2021 but only 56 per cent of watercraft users participated last year.
"The risk of aquatic invasive species spreading is too high to continue with this previous approach," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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