Cuts to the federal workforce may threaten the health of the Great Lakes.
What's happening?
Twelve U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees were fired in February, which directly impacts the viability of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, UpNorthLive reported. The agency is responsible for managing invasive sea lamprey and research initiatives.
The fishery, a joint venture between the United States and Canada, is worth $7 billion to the region.
The dismissals have other groups, including the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, worried they will be left without federal financing. Without funding, the council would be unable to continue its work to control erosion, provide invasive species education, and implement restoration projects to open fish passages.
Why is this important?
Sea lampreys in the lakes are preying on native species and have threatened the viability of the fishery since the invasive species reached the Great Lakes over 100 years ago.
The absence of FWS employees who work to eradicate the vampiric, eel-like creatures means their population could boom again. Females lay 100,000 eggs each.
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"They execute the actual treatments in the waterways that are known to control and kill sea lamprey, and pretty simple: We can't do it without them. This is not the kind of program that happens behind a desk; it's not something that can happen from afar," Greg McClinchey, GLFC policy and legislative affairs director, told UpNorthLive.
The fishery experienced a similar problem during the coronavirus pandemic when the program was cut by about 75%, which led to a 300% increase in lampreys in some places.
"The impact is immediate, and people understand that. And of course, as I mentioned, you can't run a program without good, qualified, skilled people on the ground," McClinchey said.
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What's being done about invasive sea lampreys in the Great Lakes?
In 2024, the GLFC received $20 million in federal funding for lamprey control.
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The species has been contained via a lampricide that killed 90-95% of the fish without harming native species in the Great Lakes. Scientists have also sterilized male lampreys to kill off the intruders and tried a barrier to filter out the blood-suckers.
In Lake Superior, this has helped the native trout population bounce back to such great heights that those fish are now being used to stock other lakes in Minnesota.
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