Boats being towed into B.C. might one day be swabbed to determine whether the vessel has been in water infested with invasive mussels.

A proposal for a new DNA testing system at border inspection systems is being reviewed by directors of the Okanagan Basin Water Board. The goal is to detect the presence of zebra and quagga mussels much faster than is currently possible with sniffer dogs.

“If successful, this approach could provide inspections that are just as reliable as canine detection, but at a fraction of the cost,” reads part of a recent OBWB document.

“This project will create a protocol to collect samples at inspection stations, process them in a mobile lab, and identify mussel DNA exposure within minutes,” OBWB chief operating officer James Littley writes in a report to be consi

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