WINNIPEG -- Manitoba is boosting funding in its fight against zebra mussels.
Conservation Minister Tom Nevakshonoff says the province hasn't given up on Lake Winnipeg which has fallen victim to the invasive species.
Manitoba spent $520,000 fighting the mussels this year and will double that funding next year.
Nevakshonoff says the extra funding will go to increased public awareness campaigns, watercraft inspection and decontamination, as well as a research fund to study the mitigation of zebra mussels.
The mussels were first discovered in Lake Winnipeg in 2013 and have spread, despite a unique experiment designed to kill the critters with liquid potash.
The mussels pose a costly threat -- they clog pipes at water treatment plants and can also increase algae blooms in lakes, which can kill fish and wildlife.
