Alewife Floaters - freshwater mussels

Cleaning and counting the freshwater mussels, called Alewife Floaters, named after the Alewife fish that hosts a short part of their life cycle.

The site at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens where the mussels awaited todays release for the past couple days (mussels are in the baskets floating on the edge of this pond). Jorge addresses the group of volunteers

Jorge explains about the mussel’s fascinating life cycle, and why they are being restored on the Anacostia River. He has a helper to hold up his chart. 

Volunteers use calipers to measure the length of a sample of the mussels. They also used a scale to measure weight.

Jorge verifies a measurement

Under a spreading Sycamore tree, Jorge explained about the release location and some of the challenges in restoring Anacostia’s mussel populations

(at least 8 species have been identified here)

 Volunteers struggled in and out of the waders used to walk out into the lake to place the mussels

 Oh yes - those waders! They are fun!

 Here we are at the release site. Jorge describes how mussels orient themselves in the mud, where they go during colder weather, and the surprising number of years they live. The ones we’re releasing can live 50-60 years. Other species, over a hundred years. And those quahogs clams you enjoy in New England chowder? Many are 300-400 years old!