‘Emerging Threat’: An Invasive Species Is Upending Life in the Delta, With No Help on the Way

Spurts of goo oozed between Jeff Wingfield’s fingers as he methodically crushed a handful of golden mussels, popping the shells of the tiny invaders like bubblewrap. Last October, a couple of miles down the Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel, state water managers first discovered that golden mussels had invaded North America.

“You can just push your way right through them,” said Wingfield from the dock where he stood at the Port of Stockton, looking down at the thimble-sized debris in his palm.