Sea Lamprey Control To Take Place At Trap Rock River

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel will apply lampricides to the Trap Rock River (Houghton County) to kill sealamprey larvae burrowed in the stream bottom.  Applications will be conducted on or about June 26- 30, 2017 in accordance with State of Michigan permits.  Applications will be complete in about four days.  Application dates are tentative and may be changed based upon local weather or stream conditions near the time of treatment.

Sea lamprey larvae live in certain Great Lakes tributaries and transform to parasitic adults that migrate to the Great Lakes andkill fish.  Failure to kill the larvae in streams would result in significant damage to the Great Lakes fishery.  Infested tributariesmust be treated every three to five years with lampricides to control sea lamprey populations.

The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency have reviewed human health and environmental safety data for lampricides, and in 2003 concluded that the lampricides (Lampricid and Bayluscide) pose no unreasonable risk to the general population and the environment when applied at concentrations necessary to control larval sea lampreys.  However, as with any pesticide, the public is advised to use discretion andminimize unnecessary exposure.  Lampricides are selectively toxic to sea lampreys, but a few fish, insect, and broadleafplants are sensitive.  Persons confining bait fish or other organisms in stream water are advised to use an alternate water source because lampricides may cause mortality among aquatic organisms stressed by crowding and handling. Agriculturalirrigation must be suspended for 24 hours, during and following treatment.

Extensive preparations are required for a safe and effective stream treatment.  Prior to treatment, personnel collect data on stream water chemistry and discharge.  In addition, they may conduct on-site toxicity tests with lampricides and stream flow studies with dyes that cause stream water to appear red or green.

Lampricides are carefully metered into the stream for approximately 12 hours, and continually analyzed at predetermined sitesto assure that proper concentrations are maintained as the lampricides are carried downstream.  Applicators are trained andare certified by (state/provincial) regulatory agencies for aquatic applications of pesticides.

The program is contracted through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Departmentof Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The Commission initiated chemical control of sea lampreys in 1958.  Since that time thehighly successful program has contributed significantly to the maintenance of the $7 billion Great Lakes sport andcommercial fisheries.