San Joaquin County’s dive team has been fishing more than just striped bass out of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. On June 9, deputies hauled several submerged vehicles from the murky channels and found them coated in invasive golden mussels, turning abandoned cars into floating condo complexes for a species no one wants.
The sheriff’s boating safety unit and dive team led the recovery, pulling out derelict cars and other junk from waterways popular with anglers and recreational boaters. The operation, officials said, was about more than tidying up: removing the wrecks cuts down on navigation hazards and wipes out prime colonization spots for the mussels.
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