A sterile-male-release technique and trapping are alternative control technologies to lampricide treatments that are being used to control sea lampreys in the St. Marys River, which connects lakes Superior and Huron, and borders the U.S. and Canada. 

These alternative techniques have been employed since 1991, and were intensified in 1997. 

During 2006, about 26,000 male sea lampreys, captured in over 25 Great Lakes tributaries in the U.S. and Canada, were sterilized and released into the St. Marys River.  The sterile-male-release technique reduces reproduction by causing females to waste their eggs in failed matings with sterile malesl. 

Sea lamprey traps operated by the Service and its partner, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada, removed over 10,000 sea lampreys (41% of the spawning population) from the St. Marys River. 

In addition to removing the reproductive potential of females, traps also removed males, which reduced competition for sterile males seeking mates.  The combination of releasing sterile males and trapping reduced reproduction by 84% during 2006, and has reduced reproduction by about 87% since 1997. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delivers an integrated program of sea lamprey management in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes as a contracted agent of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.