1988 News Briefs

• Claude Ver Duin, negotiator of the 1955 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, original member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and commissioner for 32 years, retired. Ver Duin was first appointed by President Eisenhower and was re-appointed by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.
• Dr. W. Mason Lawrence retired after twenty years of service as commissioner. He was first appointed to the commission in 1968 and served as chairman from 1972-1974 and again in 1981.

Commissioners

Canadian Section:               U.S. Section:

Pierre Asselin                  James M. Cady
Arthur S. Holder, Chair         William P. Horn
Henry A. Regier                 Charles C. Krueger
Paul H. Sutherland              James M. Ridenour, Vice-Chair

Sea Lamprey Management and Research

• The commission funded sealing of Wisconsin's Rapide Croche Lock to prevent sea lamprey access to the Lake Winnebago system through the Fox River.
• Funding for construction and evaluation of electric barriers on the Pere Marquette and Jordan Rivers, and funding for modification of barriers on the Misery River and the East Branch, Au Gres River, was approved.
• The commission funded a mouse micronucleus assay test as arranged by the USFWS's LaCrosse Lab as part of TFM registration.
• Dr. Bill Beamish (U of Guelph) received funds for work on ammocete estimation procedures.
• The commission began the process of upgrading the Hammond Bay facility by providing funds for a sterilizing facility, for instream barrier testing, and for improving the water intake.

Fishery Management, Environment, and Research

• The commission endorsed efforts of Wisconsin DNR, Minnesota DNR, and USFWS to study and eradicate ruffe.
• The commission requested a Fish Disease Control Committee report on the adequacy of research into epizootic epitheliotropic disease (EED).
• Dr. Jan Spitzbergen (Cornell U) received funds for research on development of lake trout cell lines for virology research.
• Dr. Joe Koonce (Case Western Reserve) received funds to study error properties of the IMSL model.
• The commission funded a study of degradation of lake trout spawning shoals.

Publications

• Parasites of Fishes in the Canadian Waters of the Great Lakes, edited by S.J. Nepszy. (TR 51)
• Guide for Determining Application Rates of Lampricides for Control of Sea Lamprey Ammocetes, by Seelye, Johnson, Weise, and King, Jr. (TR 52)
• Sterilizing Effects of Cesium 137 Irradiation on Male Sea Lampreys Released in the Big Garlic River, by Manion, Hanson, and Fodale. (TR 53)
• Relation of pH Toxicity of Lampricide TFM in the Laboratory, by Bills, Marking, Howe, and Rach. (TR 53)
• Committee of the Whole Workshop on Implementation of the Joint Strategic Plan . . . . , edited by M.R. Dochoda. (SP 88-1)
• A Proposal for a Bioassay Procedure to Assess Impact of Habitat Conditions on Lake Trout Reproduction . . . . , edited by R.L.Eshenroder. (SP 88-2)
• Age Structured Stock Assessment of Lake Erie Walleye, by Deriso, Nepszy, and Rawson. (SP 88-3)
• The International Great Lake Sport Fishery of 1980, by D.R. Talhelm. (SP 88-4)
• Report of the Evaluation of the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission Program of Sea Lamprey Barrier Dams.

Committee Action, Resolutions, and Reports

Lake Committees

• The Council of Lake Committees asked the Law Enforcement Committee to analyze Great Lakes fishery regulations and to develop a model paper trail for
• legitimate fish sales. Lake committees were encouraged to develop draft outlines for biennial state of the lake reports. The council requested that the GLFC write to contracting parties regarding the need to address the problems of live fish and other organisms being introduced in the Great Lakes via ballast water.
• The Lake Erie Committee requested that the commission provide funds for a 10-year walleye tagging study. The committee encouraged the development of an introductions policy for consideration by the Committee of the Whole.
• The Lake Huron Committee approved the tabular information on historical and desired harvests, etc, for presentation as a fish community objectives working document. The committee noted Lake Huron had the highest abundance of sea lampreys of all the Great Lakes and that gains could be reversed if control was not maintained.
• The Lake Michigan Committee agreed to seek agency feedback on commitment and capability for a Michigan proposed lakewide tagging study of chinook salmon natural reproduction and movement in Lake Michigan. The committee approved plans to update the Lake Michigan lake trout rehabilitation plan.
• The Lake Ontario Committee noted that budget cuts could jeopardize the progress made in sea lamprey control and could preclude the attainment of lake trout rehabilitation. The committee expressed concern over agency interest in advising the public regarding the consumption of angler-caught fish and added that such advisories, though important, must consistently be oriented towards the primary purpose of enabling the recreational resource user to make informed personal decisions.
• The Lake Superior Committee urged the CLC to recommend emergency action by the commission to prevent further introductions of the ruffe and other exotics. The committee urged the GLFC secretariat to contact European scientists for additional information on the biology of the ruffe.

Board of Technical Experts

• Agreed to conduct a workshop in Wisconsin to explore system stability.
• Agreed to focus attention on climate warming effects, stability of artificial systems, and introductions.
• Expressed its support for improved gear to assess ammocetes in large systems and expressed concern about the environmental impacts of using large dredges to survey ammocetes.

Great Lakes Fish Disease Control Committee

• Reported that enteric redmouth (ERM) and bacterial kidney disease (BKD) continued to be of concern. Efforts continued to control infectious pancreatic
• necrosis (IPN) using selective breeding, and immunization methods were being used to control ERM and furunculosis with mixed results.
• Controlling sea lampreys with disease organisms was rejected.

Habitat Advisory Board

• Continued to emphasize that fish (and wildlife) habitat needs to be an integral component of all Great Lakes water level management policies, plans, programs,
• and flow formulas. The board recommended that natural resource agency fishery representatives be included as full members on water level boards, committees, and other groups that help determine Great Lakes water level management.

Communications

• The commission contributed funding for a PBS video on the decline and revival of Great Lakes fisheries.
• The commission wrote the Minister of External Affairs Canada and the U.S. Secretary of State requesting measures to prevent the introduction of exotic organisms into the Great Lakes via ballast water of ocean-going ships.

1988 Budget

                                                United States   Canada          Total
Total                                           $4,549,000      $2,251,922      $6,800,922