Lamprey Management Survey

[drlfc]

I found this survey on The Steelhead Site and thought it should be posted here so all of us Lake Ontario fishermen can have a chance to help out this grad student doing the survey. Maybe it will help our fishery if we voice our opinion. It only takes a few minutes to fill out and it MIGHT make a difference!

Lou

Hello,

I am a graduate student in biology at Northern Michigan University in

Marquette, MI. I currently am taking a fisheries management class in

which we are doing a project centered on the Sea Lamprey in the Great

Lakes. As a class we are handing out surveys to the general public. My

part for the project includes administering the surveys to the fishing

public in all Great Lakes States. Below is the survey. Those who would like to take part can copy the text below and paste it into an email message. Instead of circling choices, please make the text bold. To write in answers, please do with bold or italicized text. You can send your responses to my email: [email protected]

Thank you, your responses are appreciated.

Paul Kusnierz

Sea Lamprey Management Survey

PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY

Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability by circling or highlighting your answer. All answers and participants in this study will remain completely anonymous. If you are interested in viewing the summary of responses or the report generated for this project, please contact Dr. Jill Leonard at [email protected].

PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SURVEY ONLY ONCE!

1. Your age? 18-25 26-35 36-55 56+

2. Your gender? Male Female

3. Your occupation

Natural resource professional Educator Professor Student Other

4. Are you involved in any conservation/natural resources/sport organizations as a… ?

Volunteer Employee Member

5. What is your residency?

Michigan

Other Great Lakes state/province (please list)_________

Non-Great Lakes state/province (please list) __________

6. Do you or your family members fish in the Great Lakes region?

Yes No

7. What is a sea lamprey? (Choose one)

An exotic eel A migratory bird A non-native mussel

A fish related to salmon An invasive parasitic fish An aquatic plant

8. Do you think that Sea Lampreys are a problem in the Great Lakes?

Yes No Not sure/ no opinion

If yes, how big of a problem? Slight Moderate Large Extreme

9. Do you know what sea lampreys are currently affecting in the Great Lakes?

Yes No

If yes, what? (Choose one)

Water quality Insect populations Shipping lanes Fisheries

10. Are you concerned about the sea lampreys in the Great Lakes region?

Yes, very much yes, slightly not really no, not at all

11. Have you heard about the Great Lakes sea lamprey management program?

Yes No

12. Do you know what the sea lamprey management program does (choose all that apply)?

a)Assessment b)Eradication c)Education d) Research

Which of the above do you find most important (choose letter, if any) ____

13. U.S. government spends approximately 19 million dollars each year to implement the sea lamprey management program with the Canadian government contributing a similar amount, do you feel these expenditures should be …..

Increased Stay the same Decreased

14. Which areas of focus do you think are NOT being adequately handled by the USFWS and could use improvement in management and/or budgeting? (Circle as many as you feel appropriate; leaving this question blank will imply that you feel all options are adequate)

Public Education: Money Management Research: Money Management

Eradication: Money Management Assessment: Money Management

15. Do you feel that the Sea Lamprey Management Program is diverting funding from other equally or more important environmental areas? Yes No

If YES, what areas?___________________________________________________

16. Imagine a case where sea lamprey control was shut down today. What do you believe would happen with respect to natural resources in the Great Lakes if sea lamprey management ceased to occur in the Great Lakes? Please base your answers on 0 “strongly disagreeâ€Â

[muskybob]

Done

[ray koziatek]

if the gov. is spending 19 million a year on this problem id like to see a breakdown as to how this money is spent,,, i appreaceate everything that is done but after following the cluster *#@, thats been done on seneca for the last few years (or not done) ,and with the high percentage of fish with eel bites 75% or higher on Seneca kinda puts a little concern as how the problem is being handled..im just a backseat observer but have talked with many locals on Catherine creek (ive fished it almost 30 yrs) and they gots some stories that kinda make your blood boil... On the other hand i wish some of these fisherman would properly release all of those bigger fish caught in the finger lakes , a 20 lb salmon is probly 3 years old if ya ever caught a 20 lk laker again in the fingers lakes its likley to be 20 years old or more, 5 lb rainbow in the fingers probly 7 years old.. gotta get to survey....... :?

[drlfc]

So what's your point Ray? In my opinion, bad results don't equal bad management. Input from all of us fisherman can do nothing but help the problem get better for all.

Lou

[ray koziatek]

Lou, my only experierence with the eel program is with cathrine creek ..many years ago the state put in eel barrier (dam) fish could jump but not eels.so they treated area from dam down which was good,,,,BUT a friend of mine who ownes the land tried for 10 yes 10 years to tell the dec that fish jumping the falls had eels attached to them finnaly the dec tested gravel beds above dam and shazam they found larva,for three years they tried to treat area ..so ive heard from local paper,trucks show up to treat creek but concertration level was callabrated for bigger flow rate than the creek was producing so they drove away with creek untreated ..as a fisherman who spends a little time on the water im aware of the damage the ells do to the fish,and fisheries...as a tax payer and licencs purchaser it kinda irks me but then again im a COMMON sence person,,,,,, 1st--13 years ago someone should have tested creek above dam,2nd ---some one should of maybe thought of sending someone to check flow rate so proper dilution was made,3rd--- how much did it cost to send trucks ,crew,chemicle,for nothing,4th--what happend to batch in truck and what was cost assoc. with disposing of unused items,,i could go on but common sence tells me not to .. I do care and want to halp thats why i do dec survays once in a while the common man must vent and toss a pebble maybe it will wake up someone on the other side of the glass.. Now IF ya want me to really rant lets talk about the beaver dams that block the major spawning grounds for Keuka lake COLDBROOK CREEK has been overflowing it banks due to beaver dams for 20 years ,, When I personally called avon office and spoke with collage egabucated person 18 years ago i was told i dont understand water hydrolics ....im getting #%%@##$ just thinking bout this tell ya what park at the small park lot near the old mecury aircraft i think its wheeler st that takes you there walk upstream 300 yds see for your self!!!!!!!!!! if i had a 1150 frontend loader i could have fixed the problem 20 years ago in one week alone for under 1000.00 bucks in fuel i volenteered my labor..Because I care,, probably 10 of us could buy homes overlooking lake onterio ,new boats ,2 cars,and a dog for the money spent on solving that water hydrolic mystrey in the last 20 years on that one creek ...hope this helps.

[emtystringer]

where do all these so called biologest get there information that a so called eel barrier would stop ells and not fish.

there is a small creek in jersey that has a3 to 4 foot dam on it and every year at a certain time for about a week thousands of ells keep jumping into the falls till they make it over just like you see salmon do on tv.

i never went to college and became book smart but i do appreciate the common sense that i managed to learn.

[drlfc]

No wonder these eels are rampant! Except for Musky Bob all I see posted here is negative...for shame! Help the grad student out and give him some feedback. Maybe then something constructive will be accomplished.