Control of Invasive Eurasian Ruffe. - FWS graphic

Bottom Trawling, one physical method for removing ruffe. - FWS photo

The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) has accepted an abstract based on a ruffe control experiment conducted by the Ashland Fishery Resources Office and Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin. 

The experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of bottom trawling in physically removing isolated colonies of invasive ruffe will be presented as a poster in IAGLR’s 50^th Great Lakes Research Conference – Past, Present, Future, hosted by Penn State University. 

The conference will focus on the history of research in the Great Lakes, what is currently known, and a look into the future for resolving complex issues relating to limnology and lakes management. 

The conference convenes May 28th to June 1st, and the poster will be displayed in the session, “Challenges and Successes for Addressing aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes and Inland Waters”. 

The experiment confirmed earlier observations that ruffe colonies confined to small and isolated areas of preferred habitat may be vulnerable to effective removal by physical methods. 

The term “effective removal” implies removal of 90% or more of the total that comprise a colony.  The conference oral and poster presentations combined will encompass a total of 536 Great Lakes research projects.