A Case History of Sea Lamprey Control in Lake Michigan: 1979 to 1999

The history and future of Lake Champlain's fishes and fisheries

“…High wounding rates on stocked lake trout and Atlantic salmon necessitated a control program, which was initiated experimentally in 1990 (Marsden et al, 2003). Wounding rates in Lake Champlain have ranged from 31 to 98 types AI-AIII wounds per 100 lake trout; in the Great Lakes, except in areas influenced by the St. Mary's River lamprey population prior to control, wounding rates rarely exceeded 20 wounds/100 lake trout (e.g., Heinrich et al, 2003;Lavis et al, 2003).…”

Measures of larval lake whitefish length and abundance as early predictors of year-class strength in Lake Michigan

“…Rehabilitation of lake trout in Lake Michigan has been an ongoing effort since the 1960s. This effort has consisted mainly of stocking various strains of yearling fish in both nearshore and offshore locations Jonas et al 2005a) and of controlling sea lamprey populations with the lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (Lavis et al 2003). Stocking during 2000-2004 (1999-2003 year-classes) has averaged 2.3 million fish annually (Fig.…”

“…Significant declines in lake trout abundance following 2000 (Fig. 20) are a result of increased mortality from sea lamprey predation (Woldt et al 2005); adult lamprey populations and wounding on lake trout have increased significantly since the mid-1990s (Lavis et al 2003) (Fig. 21) Estimated losses from treaty-commercial and recreational fishing have declined greatly since 1999 (Fig.…”

Variation in larval sea lamprey demographics among Great Lakes tributaries: A mixed-effects model analysis of historical survey data

“…Most lamprey-producing streams are treated on a 3-5 year cycle, but streams differ in the regularity with which large populations of transformers develop Lavis et al, 2003;Morse et al, 2003). Some streams are highly regular in their cycles of parasitic lamprey production and need for treatment (i.e., they require chemical treatments at fixed intervals), while others vary widely.…”

“…Some streams are highly regular in their cycles of parasitic lamprey production and need for treatment (i.e., they require chemical treatments at fixed intervals), while others vary widely. Previous authors have suggested that differences in recruitment, growth, and survival following lampricide treatments contribute to differences in treatment regularity Lavis et al, 2003); however, the relative role of each of these processes in determining treatment regularity is unknown. Researchers and sea lamprey managers have divided streams considered for chemical control into four categories based on their regularity of parasitic lamprey production inferred from the historic regularity of chemical treatments and from the expert opinion of assessment biologists who work on these streams.…”