Freshwater mussels provide valuable natural benefits to our rivers such as keeping soils in place, providing food and habitat for other animals and cleaning the water in which they live. Freshwater mussels are "filter feeders," which means they trap solids in the water such as dirt, algae and other pollutants then release the clean filtered water back into the environment. The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary found one mussel bed in Southeast PA that removed 26 metric tons of solids from the water in a single summer season - as much as five grown elephants!
Over a dozen species were historically found in streams throughout the Delaware Estuary. Unfortunately, very few species are found in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware today due to a combination of polluted water, toxic spills, over-harvesting for bait, loss of forests along streams, and loss of fish hosts needed for reproduction and dams that block fish passage. The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is doing important work in protecting and developing the remaining freshwater mussel beds.
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