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New Facility in Sault Ste. Marie Boosts Fight Against Invasive Sea Lamprey
A new facility in Sault Ste. Marie is helping strengthen the fight against invasive sea lamprey across the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has opened its first Canadian-owned building, a new 25,000-square-foot facility designed to support the binational sea lamprey control program. The building replaces aging infrastructure that had been used by Fisheries and Oceans Canada crews for decades and provides a centralized location for equipment and chemical storage.
Sea lamprey are among the most damaging invasive species in the Great Lakes.
A single lamprey can kill up to 20 kilograms of fish during its lifetime, and control crews work year-round to keep populations in check.
The commission says its control efforts remove roughly nine million sea lamprey each year.
Officials say the new facility will improve efficiency, reduce time spent managing equipment, and help crews focus on protecting the Great Lakes fishery for years to come. The program has already reduced sea lamprey populations by about 95 per cent throughout the Great Lakes basin.
