The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has added eight types of mussels to its endangered species list. The newest members of the endangered species list can be found in Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama.
Jeff Powell is a senior aquatic biologist with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. He said the designation gives the animals more protection, and makes people stop to think about them and their habitats.
“Anything that would require a federal permit, they would have to come to the fish and wild service and seek some type of endangered species compliance based on that. They just have to address these mussels,” Powell said.
Fresh water mussels are not generally the kind people eat. The endangered mussels can be found in Bay, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington Counties in Florida
