Once in a water, a quagga can produce upward of 30,000 eggs with each spawn and can spawn several times a year.

Once hatched, they form large colonies. As many as 70,000 have been found to occupy an area that measures one square meter.

The mussels could prove to be a great threat to fishing.

Each mussel filters water to extract nutrients and plankton for food.

"They get first crack at the food source," said Gustaveson. "They take what they want, and what they don't want they coat with a goo and spit out. This also creates a dead zone where a tremendous amount of oxygen is taken out of the water.

"So what you have for the fish is no food and an oxygen problem. An open-water fish like the striper might be taken out. The jury is still out on those fish along the shoreline, like the large and smallmouth bass."

Because of the questioning process, there is a possibility of encountering longer lines at the fee stations. Boat owners can simplify the process by providing the certificate indicating the boat has been cleaned or has not been in infested waters.

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