Re-examination of sea lamprey control policies for the St. Marys River: Completion of an adaptive management cycle

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
By: , and 

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Abstract

The St. Marys River (SMR) historically has been a major producer of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the early 2000s, a decision analysis (DA) project was conducted to evaluate sea lamprey control policies for the SMR; this project suggested that an integrated policy of trapping, sterile male releases, and Bayluscide treatment was the most cost-effective policy. Further, it concluded that formal assessment of larval sea lamprey abundance and distribution in the SMR would be valuable for future evaluation of control strategies. We updated this earlier analysis, adding information from annual larval assessments conducted since 1999 and evaluating additional control policies. Bayluscide treatments continued to be critical for sea lamprey control, but high recruitment compensation minimized the effectiveness of trapping and sterile male release under current feasible ranges. Because Bayluscide control is costly, development of strategies to enhance trapping success remains a priority. This study illustrates benefits of an adaptive management cycle, wherein models inform decisions, are updated based on learning achieved from those decisions, and ultimately inform future decisions.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Re-examination of sea lamprey control policies for the St. Marys River: Completion of an adaptive management cycle
Series title Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
DOI 10.1139/cjfas-2014-0567
Volume 72
Issue 10
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher NRC Research Press
Contributing office(s) Coop Res Unit Atlanta
Description 14 p.
First page 1538
Last page 1551
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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