Sea Lamprey are thriving in Lake Champlain and have become a very undesirable nuisance. Sea lamprey have a major detrimental impact on the Lake Champlain fish community, the Lake Champlain Basin ecosystem, the anglers that fish Lake Champlain, and the many people throughout the watershed whose livelihood is directly or indirectly supported by the fishing and tourist industry. Adult sea lamprey attach to a host fish, rasp and puncture its skin, and drain its body fluids, often killing the host fish. Their preferred hosts are salmon, lake trout and other trout species, however they also feed on other fish species, including lake whitefish, walleye, northern pike, burbot, and lake sturgeon. The lake sturgeon is listed as a threatened species in New York and an endangered species in Vermont and it is likely that sea lamprey are affecting their survival.
Lake Champlain International (
http://www.lciderby.com/ ) has started an on-line petition addressed to the Governor of Vermont, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary, and Vermont Commissioners of the Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Health and Department of Fish and Wildlife, asking them to approve lampricide treatments.
I ask that you please read the petition and sign it if you agree with it. The petition can be found on line at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/lamprey3/More information on Sea Lamprey and control methods can be found at:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6998.htmlThank you in advance,
Gerry Hartley
