Sea Lamprey Control Program

Service staff at the Marquette and Ludington biological stations fulfill U.S. obligations under the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between the United States and Canada and the Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 931). The Service works with State, Tribal, and other Federal agencies to monitor progress towards fish community objectives for sea lampreys in each of the Great Lakes, and also to develop and implement actions to achieve these objectives. Activities are closely coordinated with State, Tribal, and other Federal and provincial management agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private landowners, and the public. Our primary goal is to conduct ecologically sound and publicly acceptable integrated sea lamprey control. The Sea Lamprey Control Program is administered and funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) and implemented by two control agents, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, who often partner on larger projects. The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a parasitic fish species native to the Atlantic Ocean, parasitizes other fish species by sucking their blood and other bodily fluids. Having survived through at least four major extinction events, the species has remained largely unchanged for more than 340 million years. The sea lamprey differs from many other fishes, in that it does not have jaws or other bony structures, but instead has a skeleton made of cartilage. Sea lampreys prey on most species of large Great Lakes fish such as lake trout, salmon, lake sturgeon, whitefish, burbot, walleye, and catfish.

The latest form for Sea Lamprey Control Program expires 2027-11-30 and can be found here.

Sea Lamprey Control Landowner Questionnaire (Individuals)

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management

Review document collections for all forms, instructions, and supporting documents - including paper/printable forms.