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http://www.fox28.com/story/17579551/barrie...sh-in-n-indiana

Barrier to block invasive fish in LaPorte County

A barrier aimed at preventing invasive sea lampreys from reaching spawning grounds is being dedicated in northern Indiana.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources fisheries chief Bill James says the barrier on Trail Creek in Michigan City will prevent tens of thousands of young sea lampreys from migrating to Lake Michigan and destroying Great Lakes fish. He says that will save the Great Lakes Fishery Commission millions of dollars in treatment costs.

The barrier allows game fish to jump over it to reach their spawning areas, but stops the sea lampreys because they can't jump. The barrier also will include a passage that allows desirable fish through.

The DNR says the average blood-sucking sea lamprey destroys more than 40 pounds of Great Lakes fish.

The dedication will be held Friday.

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...6e447664103.txt

Trail Creek lamprey barrier to be dedicated Friday

From staff reports
Published: Thursday, April 19, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
TRAIL CREEK — One of the newest sea lamprey control tools, a barrier on Indiana’s Trail Creek, will be dedicated Friday.

Trail Creek, a tributary to Lake Michigan, produces tens of thousands of sea lamprey larvae annually, contributing to Lake Michigan’s sea lamprey population and the destruction it brings to the fishery.

With the barrier in place, lampricides will no longer be used in Trail Creek above the barrier, resulting in cost savings. The new barrier will deny sea lampreys access to their spawning grounds and thus reduce their numbers before they have a chance to destroy Great Lakes fish.

The Trail Creek barrier was constructed through a partnership between the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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The barrier dedication is at 10 a.m. at the barrier location on Springfield Avenue in Michigan City. For a map with directions to the site, see www.in.gov/dnr/news/co-LampreyBarrierDedication.pdf.

On hand will be Bill James, chief of fisheries for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and a member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission; Charlie Wooley, deputy regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s midwest region; Lt. Col. John Richards of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Mike Ryan of the Northwest Indiana Steelheaders and Hoosier Coho Club.

Sea lampreys invaded Lake Michigan more than 75 years ago and have been a blight on the fishery. The average sea lamprey destroys more than 40 pounds of Great Lakes fish during the predacious phase of its life. Under the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries of 1954 – a treaty between Canada and the United States – the Great Lakes Fishery Commission delivers sea lamprey control in partnership with other agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Trail Creek sea lamprey barrier is a fixed crest lowhead barrier fitted with stop logs in the center. Jumping fish species may pass at any time. The barrier also is equipped with a fishway and a sea lamprey trap that will be operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The fishway and trap are designed to remove spawning sea lampreys but allow passage of desirable fish above the barrier. Trail Creek has been treated with lampricides eight times since 1966. Each treatment costs approximately $150,000.

Mike Ryan, a board member for the Northwest Indiana Steelheaders and Hoosier Coho Club and advisor to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, said: “Sea lamprey control is essential to Lake Michigan and to the Great Lakes fishery. Without it, the millions of people who fish the lakes would have far fewer fish in their creels and we would revert to the days when alewives died on our beaches by the millions. The Great Lakes are a far healthier place today than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The sea lamprey control program has contributed to the remarkable recovery of these lakes.”

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...5a703311936.txt

Trail Creek lamprey barrier completed

By Lois Tomaszewski
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, April 21, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Breaking down barriers is usually viewed as a good thing, unless you are talking about an invasive species that had a role in devastating the Great Lakes fishing industry. In that case, putting up a barrier is cause for celebration.

A small crowd of federal, state and local officials, as well as students from two science classes at Krueger Middle School, gathered on the banks of Trail Creek to mark the completion of an engineered barrier to trap and keep sea lamprey from entering Lake Michigan. Made in 2011, the barrier, which was engineered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, keeps the lamprey, which move upstream to spawn, from getting to their preferred spawning grounds.

The Trail Creek sea lamprey barrier is described as a fixed crest lowhead barrier fitted with stop logs in the center. Fish species are able to jump the barrier. It also contains a fishway and a sea lamprey trap operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

In his remarks to the crowd, Bill James, chief of fisheries for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, said the introduction of the sea lamprey through the Great Lakes shipping channels 75 years ago had been devastating. Lampreys are an Atlantic Ocean species that resembles an eel. They attach to their prey to feed on their host’s blood. One lamprey can destroy up to 40 pounds of fish in its lifetime.

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When the lampreys are in their early life stage, chemical treatments are effective. The DNR has used chemical treatments eight times in four years at a cost of $150,000 for each treatment. The barrier eliminates this cost, which James said can be used to fund other projects throughout the Great Lakes region.

Through concerted effort to battle the sea lamprey via chemical treatments and barriers, like the new one on Trail Creek, about 90 percent of sea lamprey have been eliminated.

“The problem isn’t going away,” James said. “We have to keep after them.”

Mike Ryan, a board member of the Northwest Indiana Steelheaders and the Hoosier Coho Club, said efforts to remove the lamprey as a predator were appreciated by sport fisherman. Fishing is a $7 million industry for the state and it brings significant amounts of money into Michigan City, he said.

The Trail Creek barrier project was the result of collaborations that crossed national borders, state lines and involved the local community, James said. That was repeated by other speakers who praised both Mayor Ron Meer and the Michigan City Area Schools for their help.

Among the partnership that brought the barrier to completion were: the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The barrier spans Trail Creek, just below where Springland Avenue crosses above Trail Creek. No fishing is permitted within 100 feet of either side of the barrier, which is not open to the public. The trapping system is enclosed beneath a metal deck in a fenced and gated area.

An information board on lampreys is outside the gated area.