Freshwater Mussels Are Dying Off and Scientists Aren't Sure Why

Guest: Emilie Blevins, Senior Conservation Biologist, Xerces Society If you’re a shellfish fan, you’ve probably ordered mussels. The ones people eat from the ocean. But there are freshwater mussels, too. They thrive in North America’s rivers – or at least they have. Now they’re dying off in huge numbers. Researchers will show up to monitor their health at places along the Clinch River in Virginia only to find the riverbed carpeted with rotting mussel carcasses. Rivers in Wisconsin, Michigan and the Pacific Northwest have seen similar die-offs.