INLAND FISHERIES Ireland are exploring the possible use of a "bio-bullet" in their efforts to tackle the highly invasive Asian Clam ( Corbicula fluminea).
Despite efforts to contain colonies on the Nore and Barrow rivers and on the river Shannon at Carrick-on-Shannon, the clam is expanding its hold on Ireland’s waterways.
Since first being discovered on the river Barrow in Co Carlow in April 2010, the clam has rapidly spread, invading the river Nore and more recently being found in Lough Derg, Carrick-on-Shannon and at Banagher, Co Offaly.
The species, which originates in southeastern Asia, can grow up to 50mm (1.9ins) in length and has the potential to severely damage Ireland’s waterways.
Senior researcher with the inland fisheries agency Dr Joe Caffrey described the clams as an “ecosystem engineer” with the potential to alter a river’s environment.
Research on the river Barrow found 9,300 clams in one square meter, at a point “where the river is 80 metres wide and maybe five metres deep, literally as far as the eye could see there was no river bed, just Asian Clams,” Dr Caffrey said. Now the agency is looking at research being carried out at the University of Cambridge for a solution to the infestation. It is hoped work on the “bio-bullet” could help eradicate Ireland’s Asian Clams.
“The bio-bullet could be our silver bullet,” Dr Caffrey explained. The bio-bullet, originally developed to combat the Zebra mussel, is a tiny food item with an outer coating attractive to the species it is designed to eradicate. The core of the bio-bullet contains a poison.