May 7, 2008 6:36 pm US/Eastern
'Rock Snot' Invades Gunpowder River
HEREFORD, Md. (WJZ) ―
The latest invader to hit Maryland has a long Latin name, but fishermen most often call it "rock snot."
Alex DeMetrick reports it's turned up in the Gunpowder River in the Hereford area of Baltimore County.
The Upper Gunpowder is one of the best wild trout streams in the U.S. It brings anglers from around the world. But one of them brought in a stringy algae known as didymo or "rock snot."
"It's moved from high quality trout stream to high quality trout stream right down the East Coast. Probably the biggest vector is anglers," said Don Cosden with DNR Fisheries.
"The felt-soled shoes are known to hold a good many spores and algae because it's very open and adhesive, like Velcro," said Theaux Le Gardeur with Backwater Angler.
At Backwater Angler in Hereford, the non-native algae is a worry when fly fishing is your business. Native to Scotland, rock snot doesn't just spread across the stream bottom.
"Kind of what you might think of as wet cotton, blanketing the river. And if that happens we could see the bugs decline, and fish eat the bugs," said Jason duPont with Backwater Angler.
Right now, those bugs are still getting around because the algae is just getting started. If it begins carpeting the river, a strong release from Pretty Boy Dam might break it up, but would not destroy it.
To contain the algae, the Department of Natural Resources is urging people to wash equipment with a salt water solution and thoroughly dry it before moving between waterways.
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