Question: are pearl mussels endangered

Karen answered on 7 Nov 2018:

Yes sadly they’re very endangered! We would call them “critically endangered” which means they are at high risk of extinction (of dying out completely). Over the last one hundred years, over 90% of all the mussels in Europe have died, meaning that for every 10 mussels only 1 is still alive. Scientists think that they are dying out because of pollution and because of pearl fishing, which is where people kill mussels to search for pearls, which is now against the law! My workmates in KerryLIFE are working to help the freshwater pearl mussel survive in Ireland. Thanks for your question! 🙂