Recreation Unaffected

From March 7, 1994 (update #20)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Have zebra mussels discouraged recreational activities on Lake Erie? Not according to findings by Leroy Hushak, a professor of agricultural economics and associate director for extension of Ohio Sea Grant.

According to a story published in Twine Line, the Ohio Sea Grant newsletter, preliminary results from a 40-question survey Hushak conducted show that zebra mussels have had little impact on recreational activities.

"As best we can figure out from a previous survey and the preliminary results of this one, there's relatively little change in behavior due to the zebra mussel," Hushak told the Twine Line. "A few people decreased the frequency with which they visit Lake Erie, but a couple have actually increased it. At this point, it seems that the zebra mussel has had relatively little impact on recreational participation."

Hushak and his research assistant Jorge Vilaplana will be presenting results from their study at the 4th International Zebra Mussel Conference in Madison.

ID: 19940307-7.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.