Test results from a record number of invasive mussels found on two boats during an early January inspection show the mussels may have been alive when they were intercepted at the Washington/Idaho border.
The two boats were headed to western Washington from the Great Lakes.
More than 21 gallons of zebra and quagga mussels were scraped off one of the boats.
According to Fish and Wildlife, a single mussel can produce more than a million eggs per year.
Fish and Wildlife officials say finding live mussels that would be able to reproduce in Washington shows the need for boat inspections, even in winter.
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