Sea Lamprey Control in the Laurentian Great Lakes

The sea lamprey control program in the Laurentian Great Lakes is a case study in coordinated and integrated bi-national fisheries management, and is the only reported successful control program for a non-indigenous, vertebrate pest species at the ecosystem level.  Since its inception during the mid-1900s the program has evolved as knowledge and environmental momentum have shifted.  Currently, the program still uses lampricides as the backbone of the control program, but various alternative controls such as barriers, trapping, and sterile-male releases also have their place and are quite successful under the right circumstances.  Although sea lamprey populations in each lake are at about 10% of their historic peak levels prior to the sea lamprey control program, current measures of program success indicate there is still work to be done as spawning-phase sea lamprey abundance estimates and sea lamprey wounding rates on lake trout are still above targets in at least some of the lakes.  Enhancement of current sea lamprey control strategies and development of new strategies are needed to further enhance sea lamprey control, bring their populations to target levels, and minimize the damage they inflict across the Great Lakes.   Exciting new prospects for sea lamprey control wait on the horizon as more and more knowledge is gained about pheromone communication in the sea lamprey and the benefits of having the sea lamprey genome sequenced are realized.  Successful sea lamprey control is a key part of fish community restoration in the Great Lakes.