Pink Mucket - Steps To Recovery

Steps To Recovery

Mussels are filter feeders that pump water through their siphons to collect food particles from the water. They gather essential nutrients and remove unwanted toxins from the water. Depending on the state, many organizations and conservationists, are making attempts to recover the pink mucket. Protection and management of the pink mucket is clearly related to managing the habitat and the water quality of the large rivers it depends upon. For instance, some landowners report mussel poaching by calling their local conservation agents. Others have already taken steps to recover the pink mucket. The state of Kentucky, where the pink mucket is endangered, has created the Kentucky’s Wildlife Action Plan. This plan was developed by the state to help create priority conservation actions for the aquatic and wildlife that have become threatened and endangered species. In July 2007, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources reared pink mucket mussels at the Center for Mollusk Conservation and released eleven hundred pink muckets in the Green River. The state will continue to work on the endangered species for the next several years in order to increase and even augment the current populations of mussels. The states of Tennessee and Alabama have designated mussel sanctuaries in parts of the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers and have also successfully reproduced populations at these locations. The recovery of the pink mucket is expected to improve over the years.