SEA LAMPREY CONTROL ON THE GREAT LAKES 

 1953 AND 1954 



The use of electricity to control the sea 

 lamprey (Petromyzon marinus ) was undertaken 

 on Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan 

 in 1953 and 1954 as a result of 3 years of de- 

 velopment research on control methods by the 

 Great Lakes Fishery Investigations of the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service. 



The initial project was a pilot control 

 program, operated during the spring of 1953 

 in several streams tributary to Lake Superior, 

 to test the practicability of the electromechan- 

 ical devices as barriers to the movement of 

 sea lampreys to their spawning grounds . 

 After this test proved the effectiveness of the 

 devices, a comprehensive control program was 

 launched in 1954. Control structures were 

 operated in streams along 506 miles of the 

 south shore of Lake Superior. In anticipation 

 of the expansion of the control program to 

 Lake Michigan, several control devices were 

 also installed and operated in streams tribu- 

 tary to northern Green Bay. The areas of the 

 Great Lakes currently covered by the program 

 are shown in figure 1 . 



Numerous species of fish are mentioned 

 in this report. Their common and scientific 

 names are as follows: 



Sea lamprey 



Silver lamprey 



American br»ok igtmpiE£ 



Bowfin 



Rainbow trout 



Brown trout 



Lake trout 



Brook trout 



Round whitefish 



Smelt 



White sucker 



Longnose sucker 



Hog sucker 



Silver redhorse 



Petromyzon marinus 

 Ichthyomyzon unicuspis 

 Lampetra lamottei 

 Amia calva 



Salmo gairdneri 

 Salmo trutta 

 Salvelimisnamaycush 

 Salvelinus fontinalis 

 Prosopium cylindraceum 

 Osmerus mordax 

 Catostomus commersoni 

 Catostomus catostomus 

 Hypentelium nigricans 

 Moxosfoma anisurum 



Golden shiner 

 Creek chub 

 Pearl dace 



Emerald shiner 

 Common shiner 

 Spottail shiner 

 Lake chub 

 Biacknose dace 

 Longnose dace 

 Redbelly dace 

 Carp 



Brown bullhead 

 Black bullhead 

 Northern pike 

 Ceniratmixi Trfmsv 

 Burbot 

 Trout-perch 

 Ninespine stickle 



back 

 Yellow perch 

 Walleye 

 Logperch 

 Jofcnujr-darter 

 Smallmouth bass 

 Pumpkinseed 

 Rock bass 

 Black crappie 

 White bass 

 Freshwater 



sculpins 



NJterjftgonus crysoleucas 

 Semotilus atromaculatus 

 Semotilus margarita 



nachtriebi 

 Notropis atherinoides 

 Notropis cornutus 

 Notropis hudsonius 



Hybopsis plumbea 

 Rhinichthys atratulus 

 Rhinichthys cataractae 

 Chrosomus eos 

 Cyprinus carpio 

 Ictalurus nebulosus 

 Ictalurus melas 

 Esox lucius 

 Umbra limi 



Lota lota 



Percopsis omiscomaycus 



Pungitius pungitius 

 Perca f lave seen s 

 Stizostedion v. vitreum 

 Percina caprodes 

 Etheo stoma nigrum 

 Micropterus dolomieui 

 Lepomis gibbosus 

 Ambloplites rupestris 

 Pomoxis nigromaculatus 

 Roccus chrysops 



Cottus bairdi 



Cottus cognatus 



Electromechanical control structures 



Three types of electromechanical 

 weirs were used in the pilot control project 

 (Applegate, Smith, and Neilsen, 1952) . 

 Each barrier was designed to meet the par- 

 ticular requirements of certain streams. 

 All types included a shielded trap (or traps) 

 to capture and protect the migrating fish. 

 The type of structures used in the control 



