SCIENTISTS have met to create new ways of spicing up the sex lives of pearl mussels in a bid to save them from extinction.

Experts from the Environment Agency, English Nature, wildlife trusts and national parks are working on ways of boosting breeding among the pearl mussel population.

The shellfish, which favour the fresh waters of the region's lakes, are usually found in dense beds. But in Cumbria the shellfish have become scattered and their inability to overcome the logistics of long-distance love affairs has led to breeding problems.

Scientists are now considering taking mussels from densely populated areas in Ireland and Scotland and transporting them to scarce spots in Cumbria and England.

Anne Lewis of the Environment Agency said: "The Agency has a responsibility to protect this species as part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan a strategy to conserve, enhance and work with nature and ecosystems, rather than against them.

"Conservation bodies have reached a point where some very hard decisions need to be made. We can't simply monitor these populations until they become extinct. We need to take active measures to prolong their existence.

She added: "This is a rare species that is under threat around the world, not just here. To lose it would be a tragedy."

David Fraser of English Nature, who said that 70 per cent of England's pearl-producing mussels could be found in Cumbria. He added the plummeting population had been exacerbated by illegal pearl fishing and reduced water quality.

April 24, 2003 15:00