Sea Lamprey Control

(Photo credit: Great Lakes Fishery Commission)

The Sea Lamprey Control Centre is based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Working as the Canadian agent of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to carry out the 1955 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries agreement, the staff at the Sea Lamprey Control Centre are responsible for keeping sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes basin at a minimum. Sea lampreys are primitive fish native to the Atlantic Ocean. Sea lampreys were first observed in the Great Lakes in the 1830's. It is widely believed that they entered and spread throughout the Great Lakes via man made shipping canals.

These primitive fish attach to the bodies of native fish and feed on the fish's body fluids. This often leads to the death of the native fish. Species at risk in the Great Lakes include prized commercial and recreational species such as lake trout, salmon, rainbow trout (steelhead), whitefish, chubs, burbot, walleye and catfish.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission web site (English only) profiles the binational sea lamprey control program.

Contact:

Mr. Robert Young - (705) 941-3002