"PREVENT THE SPREAD OF NON-NATIVE AQUATIC HITCH HIKERS"

Boaters launching their craft into Massachusetts waterways should check to be sure they aren't giving a free ride to non-native aquatic plants or animals. Aquatic, exotic invasives can easily be transported between water bodies by boats, motors, trailers, fishing equipment, anchors, bait buckets, live wells, swimming and diving gear, and other aquatic equipment. These hitchhikers can wreak havoc in lakes and ponds by choking waterways through explosive growth, fouling intake and discharge structures, lowering lakefront property values, impeding boating, swimming and fishing, and reducing biodiversity by crowding out native fish, insects, and other animals and plants. Once they are established in a water body, it is nearly impossible to eradicate these non-native invasive organisms.

Example: Hydrilla in Hobomock Pond