**Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries Between the United States and
Canada**

**(Basic Instrument for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission -- GLFC)**

**[Basic Instrument]{.underline}**

Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between the United States and Canada
signed September 10, 1954; entered into force October 11, 1955. 6 UST
2836; TIAS 3326; 238 UNTS 97.

**[Implementing Legislation]{.underline}**

Great Lakes Fisheries Act of 1956 (16 USC 932).

**[Member Nations]{.underline}**

United States and Canada.

**[Commission Headquarters]{.underline}**

Great Lakes Fishery Commission

2100 Commonwealth Boulevard

Suite 100

Ann Arbor MI 48105-1563

Telephone: (734) 662-3209

Fax: (734) 741-2010

Web address: http://www.glfc.org

**[Budget]{.underline}**

The U.S. Congress provided \$12.248 million for the Great Lakes Fishery
Commission in fiscal year (FY) 2004. The Commission recommends at least
\$16.4 million for FY 2005. The Commission approved a budget of \$17.5
million for FY 2003, of which the U.S. contribution was \$12.2 million.

**[U.S. Representation]{.underline}**

A. Appointment process:

The United States is represented by four Commissioners appointed by the
President. Of the Commissioners, one is to be an official of the U.S.
Government and three are individuals who reside in different Great Lakes
States and who are knowledgeable regarding the fisheries of the Great
Lakes; one of these three must be an official of a Great Lakes state.
The term of office for Commissioners is 6 years, except for the
Commissioner representing the U.S. Government, who is appointed "at
pleasure." The President also appoints an Alternate Commissioner who
performs the duties of a Commissioner in the absence of a Commissioner,
or when a Commissioner vacancy occurs. The Alternate Commissioner is
also appointed "at pleasure." There are no set guidelines for the
nomination process. The U.S. Commissioners do not receive compensation.

B. U.S. Commissioners:

Mr. Gerry A. Barnhart

Division Director

Division of Fish, Wildlife, & Marine Resources

NYSDEC

625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233-4750

(Appointed November 27, 2002

Bernard J. Hansen

Alderman, 44th Ward

City of Chicago

(Appointed September 16, 1994)

Dr. Michael J. Hansen

Professor

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

College of Natural Resources

800 Reserve Street

Stevens Point, WI 54481-3897

(Appointed July, 2004)

Judge Craig Manson

Asst. Secretary for Fish, Wildlife & Parks

U.S. Department of the Interior

Interior Building

1849 C Street N.W.

Mail Stop 3156

Washington, DC 20240

(Appointed November 27, 2002)

Dr. William W. Taylor, Alternate

Michigan State University

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

13 Natural Resources Building

East Lansing, MI 48824-1222

(Approved November 27, 2002)

C. Advisory structure:

The Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 requires establishment of an
advisory committee for each of the Great Lakes. Appointments are
proposed by governors of each Great Lakes state, giving due
consideration to the interests of state agencies with fisheries
management jurisdiction, the commercial fishing industry, sports
fishing, and the public at large. Advisors are appointed by the U.S.
Section. An extensive advisory network has been developed by the
Commission (see "GLFC and Its Stakeholders" below).

**[Description]{.underline}**

A. Mission/Purpose:

The GLFC was established to provide research and recommendations to aid
in the management of Great Lakes fisheries and to control and eradicate
sea lamprey. Sea lamprey entered the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean
via canals constructed in the nineteenth century and quickly decimated
important commercial and recreational fisheries. Specific
responsibilities of the Commission are:

1\) to formulate research programs to sustain maximum productivity of
fish stocks in the Convention area that are of common concern to the
United States and Canada, to coordinate research done pursuant to such
programs, and, if necessary, to undertake such research itself;

2\) to recommend appropriate measures to the Contracting Parties based
on the findings of such research programs;

3\) to formulate and implement a program for eradicating or minimizing
sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes basin; and

4\) to publish the scientific findings obtained in the performance of
its duties.

The Commission provides more specific statements of its approach to
meeting these responsibilities in its *Strategic Vision for the First
Decade of the New Millennium*. The Commission has defined specific
milestones for healthy Great Lakes ecosystems, integrated sea lamprey
management, and partnerships. Over the years, as new organizations and
new ecological challenges have arisen, the state, provincial, tribal,
and federal fisheries management agencies have signed the *A Joint
Strategic Plan for the Management of Great Lakes Fisheries,* as their
basis for cooperative science-based management of the fisheries
resources in the Great Lakes. The Commission facilitates this
multi-jurisdictional, cooperative process.

B. Organizational Structure:

The GLFC secretariat handles the day-to-day operations of the
Commission. The Commission meets in plenary session annually, in early
June. Commissioners convene an Interim Meeting in early December, and
special meetings of the Commissioners take place as needed. Lake
Committee meetings, convened by the Commission under A *Joint Strategic
Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries* are held in March of each
year and as appropriate.

C. Programs:

[Lamprey Control]{.underline}: The lamprey eradication and control
mandate of the Commission consumes the bulk of the Commission\'s budget
and is carried out by the Commission\'s \"control agents\" in the United
States and Canada.

The U.S. agent is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The
Department of Fisheries and Oceans provides this function for Canada.
The Commission contracts for the application of chemical lampricide by
USFWS employees to tributaries to reduce the number of sea lamprey in
the lakes, assessment to direct the application of control efforts and
to monitor their success, and a program of alternative control methods
including sterile-male release and barrier construction. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers is a partner in construction of sea lamprey barriers
and traps. The Commission also carries out research to support its
existing program and to develop new alternative methods. The Commission
contracts portions of this research program to the U.S. Geological
Survey, Biological Resources Division and~~.~~ to universities and other
research institutions.

[Re-registration]{.underline}: The chief lamprey control chemicals (TFM
and Bayluscide/niclosamide) have been re-registered, as required by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the 1990 amendments to
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. This process
ensures that the chemical does not have harmful environmental effects,
and is a mandatory requirement of U.S. law. EPA has approved the
registrations of both lampricides in the recently completed registration
eligibility decisions (REDs). Both compounds were found to pose no
unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans or the environment when
applied in accordance with the approved label. EPA may require further
tests to determine any estrogenic affect of the compound. It is
uncertain when this decision will be made. In Canada, Health Canada is
undertaking a parallel process of re-registration of pesticides called
re-evaluation. The Commission is working to consolidate U.S. and
Canadian registrations of its lampricides with the USFWS.

**[GLFC and Its Stakeholders]{.underline}:** The Commission operates
through a broad-based, grass roots committee structure, with a
basin-wide series of local level committees that cooperate with state
and federal officials in monitoring fish (and lamprey) populations in
local waters. This information is passed to \"lake committees,\" as
prescribed in the *Joint Strategic Plan*, which present reports to the
Commission during its annual meeting. The Board of Technical Experts
(BOTE) draws from academic and industry experts in environmental issues,
biology and pesticide use. Other experts serve on a fish health
committee. The Commission's Committee of Advisors provides citizen and
state agency input to the Commission's decision-making process.

**[Commission Issues]{.underline}**

The Commission has mounted a major effort on the St. Mary\'s River,
which produced more sea lampreys than all other Great Lakes areas
combined. During FY 1999 the Commission completed the first full round
of an integrated control strategy that is predicted to reduce sea
lamprey populations in Lake Huron and northern Lake Michigan by at least
85 percent. Cost-effective sea lamprey control on the St. Mary\'s River
was once thought to be impossible because of the size of the river and
because of the widespread distribution of sea lamprey larvae.
Nevertheless, state-of-the-art lamprey assessment and modeling
technologies, combined with the development of new lampricide
formulations, have provided the tools to accurately target
concentrations of larval lampreys and to effect a significant level of
control at the least possible cost. The control strategy integrates
these targeted spot treatments with lampricides with an enhanced program
of trapping and sterile-male release. Both of these latter alternative
methods will be continued to reduce the recruitment of young larval sea
lamprey to the river. An extensive assessment program is underway to
monitor the effectiveness of the control strategy.

The GLFC is making progress towards reducing its dependency on
lampricides, with a long-term milestone of a 50 percent reduction from
1990 levels targeted. Although the Commission already uses alternatives
to lampricides to control lamprey, such as barrier dams and a program
that introduces sterile males into the lamprey population, they hope to
improve and greatly expand these programs in the next few years. In a
first step, changes to the Water Resources Development Act will allow
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work with the Commission to fund and
build new barrier to block and trap spawning sea lamprey.

Key to effective sea lamprey control is the development and application
of new alternative methods. The GLFC faces the exciting possibility of
using natural pheromones from the sea lampreys themselves as just such
an alternative method. The GLFC's investment has led to discovery of two
unique pheromones that are used by sea lampreys to migrate into the
streams in which they spawn and to find their mates on the nesting
grounds. These findings have been published in the most prestigious
journals in the scientific world and represent a revolution in thinking
about control of a vertebrate pest. Many questions have to be answered
to get to the point where these pheromones can be used to disrupt
reproduction of sea lampreys in the wild. Every effort is being made to
accelerate field tests and critical studies on the synthesis of these
pheromones to make the milestone of a new method by the end of the
decade a reality.

The GLFC Secretariat estimates that the Commission has reduced TFM use
by 30 percent since 1991, through a combination of refinements in the
application process, improved stream selection, and investments in
alternative controls. Virtually no TFM is being used in the St. Mary's
River project. The primary control there is granular Bayluscide, which
does not affect the entire water column and can be applied to discrete
areas with remarkable precision.

The Commission is also partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to protect and improve fish habitat in the Great Lakes. The authority
for this program---known as the Great Lakes Fishery and Ecosystem
Restoration program, found in the *Water Resources Development Act of
2000*---allows the Commission and its *Joint Strategic Plan* partners to
work together to identify, prioritize, and cost-share projects relating
to fish habitat. This major new initiative is just getting off the
ground and the Commission has been working closely with the Corps and
the states and tribes to ensure its success.

After years of level funding, the United States increased its annual
contribution in FY 2000 to continue the

St. Mary's River project, and increased the funding in FY 2001 and 2002
to restore sea lamprey control and to accelerate the development and
deployment of alternative control techniques. The Commission has
submitted a budget request for 2006 that includes additional funds for
sea lamprey control and alternative control research. Canada has
recently proposed an increase in its contribution. A recent report by
the Auditor General recommends that "Fisheries and Oceans should
establish stable funding to support the Great Lakes Fishery Commission."

**[Staff Contact]{.underline}**

Department of State:

William Gibbons-Fly

Director, Office of Marine Conservation (OES/OMC)

U.S. Department of State

Washington, DC 20520-7818

Telephone: (202) 647-2335

Fax: (202) 736-7350