Terms of Reference

Information on the Potential Harm to Fish and Mussel Species at Risk (SAR) from Bayluscide Applications

Regional Science Peer Review – Central and Arctic Region

February 28 - March 1, 2019
Burlington, Ontario

Chairperson: Lynn Bouvier

Context

The Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a species native to the Atlantic Ocean, was first observed in Lake Ontario in 1835, and invaded the remaining Great Lakes between 1921 and 1937. Since their invasion, Sea Lamprey have inflicted widespread and significant mortality on fishes that support Indigenous, commercial, and recreational fisheries, including Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush), Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), Ciscoes (Coregonus spp.) and numerous other species. In response, Canada and the United States established the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) under “The Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between Canada and the United States (1954)”. The GLFC was charged with developing and implementing a program to eradicate or minimise Sea Lamprey populations in the Great Lakes. The GLFC administers the bi-national Sea Lamprey Control Program (SLCP), while Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) deliver its operational elements, with support from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Presently, the primary method to control Sea Lamprey is the application of selective lampricides that target larvae in their nursery habitats. These include 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM; Hubert 2003), and 2', 5-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide or niclosamide ethanolamine salt (trade name Bayluscide; Dawson 2003). Various formulations of Bayluscide are used to assess and control larval Sea Lamprey populations. In particular, the granular formulation of Bayluscide (gB) is used to assess and control larvae in deep-water environments, including estuaries, embayments, and interconnecting waterways, such as the St. Marys River, where the use of TFM would neither be effective nor economically viable. 

In some instances, DFO-Sea Lamprey Control Centre (SLCC) staff will conduct assessments and treatments with gB in waterbodies that contain fish and mussel species currently listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), as well as species assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). The potential for lethal and sub-lethal effects to non-target fish and mussel species at risk (SAR), and the resulting potential to jeopardize their survival and recovery, is currently unknown. The lack of quantitative information about lethal and sub-lethal effects also makes it difficult to determine: 1) whether or how gB applications may alter population dynamics of these species; 2) how gB applications can be viewed in the context of other species-specific threats; and, 3) whether the investigation of potential mitigation measures is warranted.

In light of the knowledge gaps identified above, DFO’s SAR program requested science advice to understand the potential impacts of gB on fish and mussel SAR, and to identify best management practices and potential mitigation measures to minimize impacts. Therefore, the goal of this Science Advisory Meeting is to evaluate the potential lethal and sub-lethal impacts of gB applications to fish and mussel SAR in the Great Lakes basin.

Objective

The objectives of the meeting are to:

1. Summarize current knowledge of the effects of gB on fish and mussel species at risk, and estimate the scope of likely direct and indirect effects.
2. Determine the spatial extent and temporal frequency with which fish and mussel species at risk in the Canadian Great Lakes basin are exposed to gB application. The extent to which species are exposed will be based on current Sea Lamprey assessment methods, known distribution of aquatic SAR, habitat preferences of Sea Lamprey and fish and mussel SAR, and current (and proposed) critical habitat distributions.
3. Estimate direct mortality to fish SAR in the Detroit River, St. Clair River, Thames River, and Sydenham River using an allowable harm framework (Vélez-Espino and Koops 2009), based on known substrate associations of SAR, Sea Lamprey habitat classes, and resulting gB exposure.
4. Based on the information above, identify best management practices and mitigation measures that the SLCP could implement, and the potential resulting benefits to SAR.
5. Evaluate the potential impact of periodic, multi-hectare gB treatment on SAR in the St. Clair River and ascertain whether advice from Objective 4 is applicable to large-scale applications.

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document(s)

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Science, Species at Risk, and Sea Lamprey Control Program)
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Great Lakes Fishery Commission
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Academia

References

Dawson, V. K. 2003. Environmental fate and effects of the lampricide Bayluscide: a review. J. Great Lakes Res. 29(Suppl. 1): 475–492.

Hubert, T.D. 2003. Environmental fate and effects of the lampricide TFM: a review. J. Great Lakes Res. 29(Suppl. 1): 456–474.

Vélez-Espino, L.A., and Koops, M.A. 2009. Quantifying allowable harm in species at risk: application to the Laurentian black redhorse (Moxostoma duquesnei). Aquat. Conserv.: Mar. Freshwat. Ecosyst. 19: 676–688.