Quick Facts

• Nova Scotia is home to only 10 species of freshwater mussels that inhabit lakes, rivers, streams and bogs
  
  

• The Sydney River on Cape Breton Island is one of only two sites in Canada that provide habitat for Yellow Lamp Mussel which is considered to be at risk
  
  

• Fresh Water Mussels had the highest proportion of species considered at risk (RED ~20.0%) or sensitive (YELLOW ~ 40.0%) of any taxonomic group considered 
  
  

• Much of what we know about the distribution and status of fresh water mussels in Nova Scotia is based on surveys conducted by the National Museum in the early 1960s and more recently, through the concerted efforts of biologists with the Department of Natural Resources and Nova Scotia Museum