By James Heinz
Mark Twain once said: “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Such is also the case with the zebra mussel infestation of the Great Lakes.
Until now.
By “zebra mussels”, I mean both zebra mussels and quagga mussels. Since the mussels are similar in appearance and function, when I say zebra mussels I will be referring to both species.
Wikipedia tells us: “Zebra mussels and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussels are filter-feeding organisms; they remove particles from the water column. Zebra mussels process up to 1 liter (0.26 US gal; 34 US fl oz) of water per day, per mussel.
Zebra and quagga mussels attach to most substrates, including sand, silt, and harder substrates, but usually juveniles prefer harder, rockier substrates on which to attach.
They were first observed in North America in the late 1980s. Quaggas and zebras are prodigious water filterers, removing substantial amounts of phytoplankton and suspended particulates from the water. By removing the phytoplankton, they decrease the food source for zooplankton, therefore altering the food web.
The cost of fighting the pests at water-consuming facilities is substantial. According to the Center for Invasive Species Research at the University of California, Riverside, the cost of management of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes alone exceeds $500 million per year.
Zebra mussels are believed to be the source of deadly avian botulism poisoning that has killed tens of thousands of birds in the Great Lakes since the late 1990s. They are edible, but since they are so efficient at filtering water, they tend to accumulate pollutants and toxins. Most experts recommend against consuming zebra mussels.
Both species, which are native to the rivers of Southern Russia and Ukraine, are thought to have been accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes through discharged ballast water from oceangoing ships from those area. Some say that they are an unintended consequence of détente with Russia during the Cold War.
The ecological effects of the mussels are mixed. They greatly increase water clarity. In an earlier article about my diving adventures in the Great Lakes starting in the 1970s, the diving we did in those days was often referred to “braille diving” in that you did not see a shipwreck, you crawled across it feeling it with your fingers because the visibility was so bad.
The mussels have improved water clarity at times to in excess of 100 feet. However, because the mussels cover every hard surface, the improved water clarity gives divers a clear view of a nothing more than a giant pile of mussels. This clarity can cause algal blooms that wash up on beaches generating a foul smell and leading to beach closures.
Attempts to rid the Lakes of zebra mussels have focused on trying to induce native animal and bird species to eat them, with limited success. They can be killed by pesticides but that introduces ecological problems of its own.
But now someone has come up with a plan to remove the mussels from the Lakes and make a profit too.
Tyler Rezachek is a Wisconsin native. Born in Manitowoc, he graduated from Plymouth High School. At age 17 he enlisted in the US Army, which sent him to Iraq. He left the Army at age 22, finding himself an “unemployable veteran” in the middle of the covid pandemic. He started a landscaping company but his life changed two years ago when he attended a boot camp for prospective veteran entrepreneurs at Texas A&M.
As a result, Tyler began to think about how he could remove the mussels and make money doing so. As he says, “A lot of people were not interested in finding a solution but wanted a solution.” Which sounds like a perfect opportunity for an entrepreneur.
The shells of zebra mussels are composed of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is one of those unsung chemicals that affect modern life without our realizing it. Its greatest use is as a whitening agent. Every white sheet of paper produced is whitened with calcium carbonate. Every piece of white porcelain is made that white color with calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate is used to make cement, refine iron ore for steel, in oil well drilling fluids, as a paint extender, to counteract acid rain in bodies of water, and a host of other uses. And you have put calcium carbonate in your mouth. It is used to make toothpaste and Tums brand ant-acids. As Tyler put it, calcium carbonate is “a compound that permeates every part of our lives.”
Tyler’s idea is very simple: He proposes to use a robot boat to suck the mussels up from the bottom using an airlift, transport them to shore, and then grind them up.
If you think a robot boat is not practical, I told Tyler about the article I wrote about the robot boat used to conduct underwater surveys of the new federal Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast Marine Sanctuary.
Calcium carbonate is usually produced by quarrying and mining. These activities can cause environmental problems. Tyler’s idea solves an environmental problem. As he puts it, his idea makes the zebra mussels “an incredible resource. We just have to tap it.”
Tyler told me that off Sheboygan, in about 80 feet of water, there are literally piles of mussels. That is because in water less than 80 feet deep, wave action scatters the mussels around. Once the mussels are brought up, they would be steam washed to kill botulism and then crushed, sifted, and left to dry for one week to remove all moisture before being used.
Although some people might object to putting something in their mouth that used had once contained botulism, this would not be a problem for using calcium carbonate in products like cement, iron ore, oil well drilling fluids and other products that no one puts in their mouth.
Tyler also proposes to rid Great Lakes beaches of the sharp mussel shells that have made walking barefoot along the beach a thing of the past. He would use existing beach cleaning machines to scoop up the mussels and crush them to make beach sand which would be deposited back on the beach.
Tyler believes that his proposal is renewable. He does not believe that he can remove all of the mussels. Removing them from structures by hand using divers would be too expensive. The mussels only reproduce once a year in shallow water but reproduce year round in colder, deeper water down to 500 feet where nothing else grows and they have room to spread.
When I first heard this idea I was skeptical but Tyler seems to have thought of many possible complications ahead of time and is proceeding in a methodical way to address them.
In April he plans to take a boat out from Sheboygan and suck up a quantity of mussels and grind them into a 95% powder which he plans to send to UW-Eau Claire for testing. He also plans to take a cruise this summer on the UW-Milwaukee research vessel NEESKAY, which I have written about previously, since UW-Milwaukee is investigating ways to remove the mussels as well.
I am not the only one who thinks Tyler has a chance to succeed. Tyler has won second place in an entrepreneurial “pitch competition” in which prospective entrepreneurs have 4 minutes to make a pitch to a panel of 3-4 judges who then have 2 minutes to ask questions. At a regional competition in Green Bay, Tyler won second place.
Tyler is willing to hear from interested parties and prospective investors. Contact him at: https://antimussel.com/.
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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
Photos provided by Wikipedia:
Photo at top of page: Zebra mussel Dreissena_polymorpha
Other photo:
