Sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, are parasitic fish that are believed to have entered Lake Champlain via the Champlain Canal. Adult sea lamprey spawn in several of the Lake's tributaries, leaving nonparasitic larvae (ammocoetes) to remain in stream sediments for several years until they transform into the adult form, at which point they migrate to the Lake to prey on fish. Attacks by adult sea lamprey on landlocked Atlantic salmon, lake trout and other fish species have limited the full development of a Lake Champlain fishery, and restricted recreational and associated economic opportunities. Efforts to reduce sea lamprey populations in the Lake as part of an experimental control program were initiated in 1990 through a combined effort by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Fisheries, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Lake Champlain Ecosystem Team. Control strategies currently include the use of the lampricides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in 13 streams and Bayer 73 on five tributary deltas, as well as barrier dams (see side column). Currently, only New York State is using the chemical control. Control efforts are supported by the US Fish and Wildlife's annual approprations to Lake Champlain. Research suggests that this effort has been quite successful. For example, since the control program began, sea lamprey nest counts have shown a downward trend and total lake trout and salmon catch has increased. Recently the sea lamprey control project received two prestigious national awards for their efforts from the American Sportfishing Association and the American Fisheries Society. More About Sea Lamprey Sea Lamprey Factsheet - Wisconsin Sea Grant New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Vermont Fish and Wildlife US Fish and Wildlife Service Lake Champlain Ecosystem Team

Barrier Dams to Control Lamprey Barrier dams are an alternative to chemical control of sea lamprey. In the Lake Champlain Basin, 2 barrier dams received funding through the Lake Champlain Basin Program. On the Great Chazy River in New York, $15,000 was provided to make the existing waterworks dam inpenetrable to sea lamprey. This effort alleviated the need for TFM chemical treatment on 14 miles of the river. In Vermont, an old barrier dam was repaired on Lewis Creek. The New York State Bond Act has also supported sea lamprey control by providing $226,500 to build a barrier dam on the Little AuSable River. The Little AuSable is one of the largest producers of sea lamprey in the Basin. The dam, which will be constructed by NYSDEC's Bureau of Fisheries, will also incorporate a jump pool to allow desirable species to migrate upstream.

PLEASE NOTE: The views expressed on WPTZ NEWS CHANNEL 5's series "Champlain 2000" do not necessarily reflect the position of the Lake Champlain Basin Program or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Last Updated: September 24, 1999