Application of the lampricide TFM to a small Great Lakes tributary. - FWS photo

From May to June, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s sea lamprey control program treated 27 Great Lakes streams (3 in Lake Superior, 14 in Lake Michigan, and 10 in Lake Huron) with lampricide to eliminate larval sea lamprey populations. 

These treatments destroyed an estimated 5.3 million larval sea lampreys including nearly 100,000 that would have metamorphosed to the parasitic phase in 2007 and entered the Great Lakes.  There, each parasitic phase sea lamprey would have been capable of killing upwards of 40 pounds of lake trout during its year long life in the lakes. 

The Service’s sea lamprey control program is conducted under contract with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.  The successful control program continues to ensure sport fish rehabilitation in the Great Lakes and protects a fishery valued at over $4 billion.