No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African Giant Moon Snails has coastal New Jersey residents in a panic over potential damage, disease and general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods.
The US and NJ Departments of Agriculture have mobilized 34 agents to battle the infestation and the US Fish & Wildlife Service is heading up an investigation into how the mollusks -- which can be up to 20 centimeters (eight inches) long -- arrived.
"This is a big snail, a very big snail," says very well-known diver Bart Major, as he probes one of the shells with a tool-dipped & duct taped, gloved hand.
"No it's not empty, see... eeew. It's very heavy, you can tell the snail is still in there...LOLOLOLOL"
"We've been told that they like to eat the discarded fishing sinkers left on the local shipwrecks, and the lead helps to build their shells."
The Harryannas Maischus, or Giant African Moon Snail, can live up to nine years, and are very physically fit and prolific in reproduction, laying up to 1,200 eggs a year, making it extremely invasive. A single snail can create a mass that invades an entire shipwreck.
Local boat owner, Capt. Jim Wilson, discovered large piles of snail excrement on the transom of his dive boat, Gypsy Blood, and ended up collecting 583 of the mollusks in a week, finding them on his bow, on his deck and even stuck in his marine head after they apparently had sniffed out lead that had been recently been brought aboard by a diver. During Wilson's story, the spandex-clad Major's eyes strangely darted nervously from side to side.
State authorities say they have captured 35,000 since the invasion began in September. But the concern is not simply a question of aesthetics: The snail's mucus can contain a parasite which transmits a form of meningitis, which is not lethal but can provoke extreme abdominal pain.
The pest is also a threat to local boat owners, feasting on the zincs attached to the hulls of their boats.
"If they were to become established, it could devastate New Jersey's sinker salvage industry," said Major, who noted that the salvage of lead sinkers is second only to diving for lobsters and scallops for the state's economy.
It's not clear how the world's largest snail species arrived in New Jersey. Originally from East Africa, they have also been found in Caribbean islands including Guadeloupe and Martinique.
This is not the first invasion for New Jersey. In 1966, a boy named Bart imported three giant snails as pets, and his grandmother released them into the wild, which led to a colony of 18,000. The eradication effort took nine years and cost over one million dollars.
Importation of these animals is illegal in the United States without a federal permit. But officials point out they are used in certain Afro-Caribbean religious practices.
It's not clear if the snails were brought over for religious ceremonies or as pets and got "out of control."
The eradication effort is in full force even though the snails are in a sort of hibernation during which they dig themselves into the sand, making them less visible.
Authorities are hoping to bring down the population before the spring, which could cause a population surge. Officials say the areas being cleaned up will remain under scrutiny for several months.
The captured gastropods are taken to a lab where specialists examine them and, ultimately, kill them off. The snails are effectively drowned in an alcohol solution. Or scientists toss them in the freezer to ensure they are dead. But one local diver/businessman has even come up with an alternative to just throwing them away by sprinkling them with some Garlic Serrano Spicy Diver hot sauce.
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