Invasion of the Quagga: Crisis Below Swiss Waters

Quagga mussels from the Black Sea, now invading Swiss lakes, are damaging ecosystems by disrupting food chains and clogging pipelines. Originally detected in 2014, their population may multiply twentyfold in the next two decades. Efforts are underway to control their spread via new regulations.

On Switzerland's Lake Neuchatel, fisherman Claude Delley fights a losing battle against Quagga mussels. Using his net's metal frame, he desperately tries to dislodge the invasive creatures from the Black Sea—most cling stubbornly, causing significant damage to his equipment.

These mussels aren't merely a fisherman's bane but a widespread ecological issue. Swiss native crayfish populations, already dwindling, suffer further as they become suffocated by encrusted mussels. The invaders also consume excessive phytoplankton, depriving native lake species of food and disrupting the entire food chain.

Since their first appearance near Basel in 2014, these mollusks have proliferated across Swiss lakes with minimal predatory control. They threaten to multiply twentyfold in two decades, prompting potential regulations to curtail their spread, which have already been detected in France and Germany.

(With inputs from agencies.)