Efforts to control sea lamprey numbers in the Great Lakes seem to be paying off but there is still need for more progress in Lake Erie.
Marc Gaten with the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission says in lakes Huron and Michigan lamprey numbers are at 20 and 30 year lows.
"Down significantly from their peak and the peak varied from year to year, but we have basically far fewer lamprey in the Great Lakes than we did a generation ago, it's great news for the fish and the people who like to fish," he says. "Lake Erie is still our biggest trouble spot, we had very good numbers throughout the Great Lakes and they are declining in Lake Erie quite significantly, but they are still too high."
Before control programs were started lampreys killed more than 100-million lbs of fish per year, that is now down to under 10-million.
