Great Lakes Fishery Commission Honors Vic Gillman of Fisheries & Oceans Canada For His Contributions to Sea Lamprey Control

ANN ARBOR, MI—The Great Lakes Fishery Commission this month presented Mr. Vic Gillman of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Burlington, Ontario, with the Vernon Applegate Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sea Lamprey Control.  The award, which is presented annually by the commission, recognized Mr. Gillman’s many years of service to the sea lamprey control program.  Mr. Gillman, Area Director at DFO’s Ontario – Great Lakes Branch at the Bayfield Institute, was honored for his strong commitment to the fisheries resources and his dedication to cooperative fisheries management between the U.S. and Canada.

Mr. Gillman, as a representative at the Canadian sea lamprey control agent, has been a member of the commission’s Sea Lamprey Integration Committee, a U.S. and Canadian panel established to assess the sea lamprey problem, propose treatments, and advise the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.  He has also worked to coordinate research and activities between the commission and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 

“Over the past decade, the commission has seen tremendous advances in its control program for the invasive sea lamprey, a parasitic fish that wreaks havoc on the Great Lakes fishery,” said commission Vice-Chair Bill Beamish.  “Mr. Gillman has helped the commission institute common border-blind protocols for control and assessment of sea lampreys, use less lampricide to control sea lampreys, phase in more alternative control methods in treatments, emphasize research into new control methods, and develop approaches to tackling previously impossible challenges, like treatment of the St. Marys River.”

Beamish added: “Vic saw the strength in working together toward shared objectives rather than arguing about the objectives themselves.  Vic is known for his creativity and his strong committment to the resource.  In presenting this award to Vic Gillman, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission recognized his efforts in bringing a shared vision and true cooperation to the sea lamprey control program.”

The Vernon Applegate Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sea Lamprey Control is presented by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to recognize an individual or group who furthered the cause of sea lamprey control on the Great Lakes.  In the spirit of Vern Applegate—a visionary who, 50 years ago, pioneered the successful sea lamprey control effort—this award recognizes persons who made particularly noteworthy contributions in such areas as lampricides, alternative controls, integrated pest management, non-target mortality, research, and program efficiencies.  Sea lamprey control is vital to the vibrancy of the valuable Great Lakes fishery, to the achievement of Fish Community Objectives, and to the millions of people who rely on the fishery for food, income, and recreation.  The Vern Applegate award is a fitting recognition of those who made outstanding contributions to the program and to the long-term health of the Great Lakes fishery.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is an international organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada through the 1955 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries.  The Commission has the responsibility to coordinate fisheries research, control sea lampreys, and facilitate implementation of the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries. For more information about the Commission and its programs, visit www.glfc.org on the Internet or call Marc Gaden at 734-662-3209, x. 14.