Decline and Recovery of the Lake Superior Gull Island Reef Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Population and the Role of Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) Predation

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Abstract
The Gull Island Reef lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) population was one of the few in Lake Superior that was not annihilated by the combined effects of excessive fishing and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) predation. Following control of the lamprey in the early 1960s, this population of lake trout began a slow but steady increase in the average age and numbers of lake trout. Total annual mortality rates for spawning lake trout were 32% for age VI fish, 48% for ages VII–VIII, and 75% for ages IX and older. These total mortality rates included a 7.3% exploitation rate u, a 20% natural mortality n, and annual lamprey-induced mortalities of 6% for ages V–VI, 24%, for ages VII–VIII, and 56% for ages IX and older fish. The estimated number of lake trout eggs deposited annually on Gull Island Reef from 1964 to 1979 ranged from 3.3 million eggs in 1965 to 28 million eggs in 1979, with a mean of 9 million eggs per year. At present levels of lamprey predation, the estimated egg to spawning fish return rate on Gull Island Reef is 0.18%.Key words: lake trout, sea lamprey, survival, population structure, egg deposition

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