One of the newest sea lamprey control tools, a barrier on Indiana’s Trail
Creek, will be dedicated on Friday, April 20, near Michigan City, the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources said.
Trail Creek, a
tributary to Lake Michigan, produces tens of thousands of sea lamprey larvae
annually, contributing to Lake Michigan’s sea lamprey population and the
destruction it brings to the fishery, according to a statement released on
Wednesday. “With the barrier in place, lampricides will no longer be used in
Trail Creek above the barrier, resulting in cost savings,” DNR said. “The
new barrier will deny sea lampreys access to their spawning grounds and thus
reduce their numbers before they have a chance to destroy Great Lakes fish.”
The Trail Creek
barrier was constructed through a partnership between DNR, the Great Lakes
Fishery Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.
The dedication
is at 10 a.m. at the barrier location on Springfield Avenue in Michigan
City.
“Sea lampreys
invaded Lake Michigan more than 75 years ago and have been a blight on the
fishery,” DNR noted. “The average sea lamprey destroys more than 40 pounds
of Great Lakes fish during the predacious phase of its life.”
Fortunately, sea
lampreys can be controlled in the Great Lakes. Under the Convention on Great
Lakes Fisheries of 1954—a treaty between Canada and the United States—the
Great Lakes Fishery Commission delivers sea lamprey control in partnership
with other agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army
Corps of Engineers. The Indiana DNR and similar agencies depend on the sea
lamprey control program to support activities such as fish stocking, habitat
recovery, and species restoration. “Sea lampreys have been reduced by 90
percent in most areas of the Great Lakes, contributing to a healthy
environment, jobs, and more than $7 billion in economic return annually to
the people of Canada and the United States,” DNR said.
The Trail Creek
sea lamprey barrier is a fixed crest low-head barrier fitted with stop logs
in the center. Jumping fish species may pass at any time. The barrier also
is equipped with a fishway and a sea lamprey trap that will be operated by
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The fishway and trap are designed to
remove spawning sea lampreys but allow passage of desirable fish above the
barrier. Trail Creek has been treated with lampricides eight times since
1966. Each treatment costs approximately $150,000.
“The barrier at
Trail Creek is the newest weapon in the sea lamprey control arsenal,” said
Bill James, chief of fisheries for DNR. “It will prevent tens of thousands
of sea lamprey larvae from migrating to Lake Michigan to destroy Great Lakes
fish and it will save the Great Lakes Fishery Commission millions of dollars
in treatment costs.”
Added Charlie
Wooley, deputy regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Midwest Region, “Sea lamprey barriers prevent sea lampreys access to their
spawning grounds. This barrier removes many miles of sea lamprey habitat
from the Great Lakes basin. The barrier is state-of-the-art. Jumping fish
pass with ease. With a fishway and sea lamprey trap, the barrier provides
for the passage of desirable fish while allowing us to remove sea lampreys
from the system before they spawn.”
“The Army Corps
has worked with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service on several sea lamprey projects throughout the Great Lakes
basin and is proud to apply its engineering expertise to such a worthwhile
endeavor as the Trail Creek sea lamprey barrier,” said Lt. Col. John
Richards of the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers. “Sea lamprey control protects
the Great Lakes fishery, improves the health of the ecosystem, and provides
billions of dollars in economic benefits to the region.”
Mike Ryan, a
board member for the Northwest Indiana Steelheaders and Hoosier Coho Club
noted, “Sea lamprey control is essential to Lake Michigan and to the Great
Lakes fishery. Without it, the millions of people who fish the lakes would
have far fewer fish in their creels and we would revert to the days when
alewives died on our beaches by the millions. The Great Lakes are a far
healthier place today than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The sea lamprey
control program has contributed to the remarkable recovery of these lakes.”
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