GLFC Home PageFor Immediate Release
March 9, 1998
Contact: Marc Gaden
734-662-3209 ext. 14
Thunder Bay, ON-Fishery management officials from the Province of Ontario, the states of
Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and the tribes with management authority on the Great
Lakes will convene their annual Lake Committee meetings in Thunder Bay, Ontario, starting
March 16, 1998. The Lake Committee meetings will be held at the Valhalla Inn, located at 1
Valhalla Inn Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario (1-800-964-1121). Lake Committee meetings are open
to the public and to the media.
Lake Committees-which are the major action arms for the agencies to achieve their joint objectives for sustaining and enhancing fisheries-are convened by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Lake Committees are the primary forums under which fishery officials meet to discuss day-to-day fishery management issues and to set long-term goals for fishery rehabilitation. The management agencies on the committees work by consensus and establish such things as fish harvest, stocking levels, research needs, and habitat improvement projects. Each state, province, and tribal jurisdiction bordering a particular Great Lake has a seat on the particular Lake Committee.
"This is the first time Thunder Bay will host Lake Committee meetings," said Lake Superior Committee Vice-Chairman Bob Thomson of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. "World-class scientists and fishery officials from around the Great Lakes region will come to Thunder Bay to discuss the state of the fishery and to make decisions about its management. These forums present the community with a tremendous opportunity to learn about the Great Lakes fishery and to witness cooperative fishery management in action."
"The Great Lakes resources are shared by many jurisdictions," added Charles Krueger, Chairman of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. "Lake Committees allow Great Lakes management agencies to work together to address the day-to-day issues surrounding management of the fishery and to achieve long-term sustainability of these valuable resources. Lake Committees are widely viewed as one of the world's best examples of cooperative international fishery management. They help agencies prevent duplication of effort and they remind us that political boundaries should not hinder sound fishery management, but rather, should be a source of collective strength."
The schedule for the individual lake committees and the topics to be presented are listed below.
Agendas for the Upper
Lake Committees
Lake Michigan Committee (Jim Francis, Indiana Dept. of Nat. Resources, Chair):
1:00 p.m., March 16th through 11:00 am, March 17th
Presentations common to the Lakes Michigan, Superior and Huron Committees:
11:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m., March 17th
Lake Superior Committee (Jack Skrypeck, Minnesota Dept. of Nat. Resources, Chair):
2:00 p.m., March 17th through Noon, March 18th
Lake Huron Committee (David McLeish, Ontario Ministry of Nat. Resources, Chair):
1:00 p.m., March 18th through Noon, March 19th
For more information about the Lake Committee agendas, consult the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's website (www.glfc.org) or contact Marc Gaden (GLFC) at 734-662-3209 x. 14. or by email at mgaden@glfc.org
GLFC Home Page