[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ZEBRA MUSSELS AND SEA LAMPREY

 Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. President, I would like to take this time to 
express my appreciation to the managers of the Commerce, Justice, State 
appropriations bill for their support and acceptance of an amendment 
which would provide funding for research on nonindigenous species in 
the Great Lakes--zebra mussels and sea lamprey.
  While zebra mussels may sound harmless, they have caused health 
hazards as well as economic and environmental devastation in the Great 
Lakes region. For example, zebra mussels are largely responsible for 
increasing the bacteria levels on beaches surrounding Lake St. Clair. 
Because the zebra mussels consume particles in the lakes, sunlight is 
able to shine through the clear water. This increased sunlight reaches 
the aquatic plants on the lake floor causing them to grow more rapidly 
and prolifically than they would without the aid of zebra mussels. 
While this may not sound problematic, these plants then trap bacteria 
which cause health hazards to swimmers. The Lake St. Clair beaches have 
been forced to close due to the unhealthy levels of e-coli bacteria in 
the water.
  In addition, while each zebra mussel is not much larger than a 
fingernail, they can cause multimillion-dollar problems to energy 
systems in the Great Lakes. These tiny animals attach to water intake 
valves needed to generate power for our communities. They attach to 
each other and create a reef-like barrier in these important intake 
valves. Clearing the zebra mussels out of these valves is a 
multimillion-dollar task.
  I comment the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab for their work 
on eradicating the zebra mussel population and again I thank the 
managers for their support of GLERL's work.
  I also appreciate the managers' support for additional funding for 
the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. This commission is the only 
organization conducting research on reducing the sea lamprey population 
in the Great Lakes. The commercial fishery in the Great Lakes was all 
but eliminated in the early 1950's largely due to the impact of the 
invading sea lamprey. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission's work so far 
has helped the fishery rebound to a current economic value in excess of 
$4 million annually.
  Because of the explosion in the sea lamprey population, Canada 
intends to increase their contribution to the Great Lakes Fisheries 
Commission. By treaty, however, the United States must provide 69 
percent of the funding for the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. 
Therefore, we must increase our contribution in order to leverage 
additional Canadian funding. I am pleased that the Canadians are 
working with us on this problem and am confident that the funds spent 
on sea lamprey research will be beneficial on a national as well as an 
international level.

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