In 1967 Congress^* appropriated $100,000 in 

 matching funds to provide research on control or 

 elimination of jellyfish and other pests. 



B. Alewives (Pomolobus pseudoharengus) 



The unnatural condition of alewives in the 

 Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan, was caused 

 primarily by the sea lamprey destroying large 

 predator fish. In the absence of predators the 

 alewife thrived to the detriment of other fish. 



The explosive increase in recent years and the 

 severe die-off in 1967 were costly to States, 

 communities, and industries on the lake. The West 



'* Jellyfish Control or Elimination in Coastal Waters 

 Act of November 2, 1966, PubUc Law 89-720, 80 Stat. 

 1149. 



Michigan Tourist Association estimated that resort 

 owners lost more than $50 million in 1967.^' 



Alewives were noted first in Lake Ontario in 

 1873, a few years after the introduction of shad 

 into that lake. The alewives might have been 

 accidentally included in the plantings of shad. 



The Welland Canal was completed in 1829, but 

 it was not an easy route for fish. The first sea 

 lampreys were not found in Lake Erie until 1921. 

 Alewives were reported in Lake Erie in 1931, in 

 Lake Huron in 1933, Lake Michigan in 1949, and 

 Lake Superior in 1954. 



The alewive was common in Lake Erie by 1942, 

 but never became extremely abundant. In Lake 



Special Report to panel by Dr. J. L. McHugh, Deputy 

 Director, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Feb. 13, 1968. 

 This and the following material on the alewife problem 

 was taken from that report. 



Figure 13. Alewife die off in Bumham Harbor, Lake Michigan. (Chicago Sun Times photo 

 by Bob Longer) 



III-46 



