Question: Are pearl mussels rare?

Karen answered on 7 Nov 2018:

Hi, yes they’re very rare, there used to be a lot more of them but 9 of ever 10 mussels in Europe have died out due to pollution and illegal pearl fishing! Even though they are 5 million in the rivers I work in, this is a lot less than there should be. Thankfully there are great scientists all over Europe working now to help the mussels grow in numbers and to protect the rivers they live in!