Great Lakes Fishery Commission: Actions Needed to Support an Expanded Program
NSIAD-92-108
Published: Mar 09, 1992. Publicly Released: Mar 09, 1992.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's sea lamprey control programs, focusing on the Commission's: (1) consideration of the potential harmful effects of its sea lamprey control actions; (2) progress in adopting nonchemical sea lamprey control methods; and (3) use of increased funding for research for alternative control methods.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of State | The Secretary of State, working in conjunction with appropriate officials from the government of Canada, should ensure that the Great Lakes Fishery Commission develops a comprehensive strategy for its alternative control research that describes, to the extent practicable, the projected research cost, the amount of research already available, the practicality, possible environmental consequences, and general research completion time frames for each proposed sea lamprey control method or area of research. |
State and the Commission agreed with the recommendation. However, funding constraints have forced a drastic reduction in the research program. As a result, the Commission does not view implementation of the recommendation as a high priority.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State, working in conjunction with appropriate officials from the government of Canada, should ensure that the Great Lakes Fishery Commission improves monitoring of research activities by appointing a full-time research administrative officer to establish a system to track project milestone and report dates and develop oversight procedures for an expanded research program. |
The Commission hired a research administrative officer to monitor research activities. However, the officer was reassigned to work on reregistering lampricide chemicals. Cuts in the research program have made research monitoring less of a priority.
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| Department of State | The Secretary of State, working in conjunction with appropriate officials from the government of Canada, should ensure that the Great Lakes Fishery Commission develops a plan and system for reregistering the lampricide chemicals that includes an estimated budget by year. |
The Commission has developed a lampricide chemical reregistration plan and an annual budget through 1996 of $4.9 million.
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Chemical researchEcosystem managementEnvironmental monitoringParasitesFishesInland waterwaysMarine resources conservationPest controlPesticide regulationPesticidesResearch program management