The government of Alberta is adding two more trained detection dogs to its fight against invasive mussels across the province.

The dogs, working alongside watercraft inspectors, use their highly trained sense of smell to detect mussels in hard-to-see areas of boats and shorelines.

The dogs, named Jane and Winnie, underwent extensive training in the United States over the past few months, where they learned to identify all three known species of invasive freshwater mussels present in North America, which include Zebra, Quagga and Golden Mussels.

The cost of the initial training for the dogs is about $150,000 each, plus the cost of ongoing training.

The two new members of the K-9 team will join Hilo, who has spent more than a decade helping to protect Alberta waterways from invasive species.

The dogs can conduct inspections in about half the time it takes human inspectors and can identify mussel odours from microscopic mussel larvae in difficult-to-see areas of boats.

From May 1 to Sept. 30, anyone entering Alberta with a watercraft must submit to a mandatory inspection at one of the 12 inspection stations set up along the provincial borders, including a new one being opened this year at the Chief Mountain border crossing in Waterton National Park.

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If the closest inspection station is closed, watercraft users must have their vessel inspected within seven days of entering the province and before launching it into Alberta’s waters.

The fines for ignoring the law are steep — $4,200 for failing to stop at an open inspection station and $600 for failing to remove a drain plug when transporting a watercraft within Alberta.

The government of Alberta claims the province is currently free of zebra and quagga mussels, which are invasive species that originated in Europe and have already spread to many parts of Canada and the United States.

Once established, they are nearly impossible to eradicate and can spread rapidly, will outcompete native species for food and will attach themselves to things like water pipes and irrigation infrastructure, causing millions of dollars in damage.

So far this year, the inspectors have intercepted six watercraft carrying invasive mussels attempting to enter Alberta.

In 2025, 21,995 boats were inspected — that’s 8,495 more than during 2024.

Thirteen watercraft carrying invasive mussels were intercepted attempting to enter Alberta.