Great Lakes Region

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Sea Grant develops efficient, rapid method for measuring PCBs and mercury in fish

• Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant research has produced more rapid and less costly methods for measuring PCBs and mercury in fish.  
• The new methods cut costs from $500 - $1,500 to approximately $50 per sample and can deliver results in days, rather than weeks or months.  
• Currently, Sea Grant is working to develop a simpler, more understandable fish advisory.

Michigan Sea Grant
Sea Grant research helps young Chinook salmon survive

• Michigan Sea Grant research on river flow around dams located on a major Lake Michigan tributary led to a shift in flow management practices.  
• Water is now allowed to flow naturally through the dams.  
• As a result, the survival of young Chinook salmon, a key Lake Michigan sportfish, has increased dramatically in response to the stable water flow.

Minnesota Sea Grant
Sea Grant gives residents a "View from the Lake" to examine land use and stormwater planning

• Minnesota Sea Grant, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Extension Service, took over 1,200 people from more than 100 communities onto the waters of Lake Superior to examine coastal conditions and discuss stormwater management.  During 70 half-day outings conducted from eight ports, participants explored how human activities influence water quality and conducted water quality tests.  
• As a result of their voyage experience, over 90 percent of elected officials surveyed thought they would take action in their communities as a result of the voyage. 
• Of all participants, about 60 percent thought that they would do something, such as build rain gardens and install rain barrels, or work with community planners on minimizing impervious surfaces, because of the experience.  Based on the response of returning passengers, about 40 percent are estimated to follow through.

New York Sea Grant
Sea Grant and partners create “Dive the Seaway Trail” to attract divers to Great Lakes

• Scuba divers represent an economic impact of more than $108 million to New York's Great Lakes region.  
• The fresh waters of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie are filled with shipwrecks, “sealife,” and rock formations decorated with freshwater sponge. 
• This largely undiscovered underwater destination is now being brought to divers’ attention by “Dive the Seaway Trail,” a project of New York Sea Grant and Seaway Trail, Inc.  
• The project includes development of a series of dive sites that are marked, buoyed and maintained by community-based stewards along the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River and Lake Erie.  The sites, featured on a new website, are accessed via the Seaway Trail, one of America's Byways and a National Recreation Trail. 
• The 518-mile Seaway Trail is a federally-designated America's Byway (Federal Highway Administration designation) and a National Recreation Trail (National Parks Service designation).  To learn more about diving the Seaway Trail, visit www.seawaytrail.com

Ohio Sea Grant
Sea Grant engineers algae-a new means to vaccinate fish

• Ohio Sea Grant research is developing a vaccine to protect fish from IHNV, a viral disease that is killing an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. trout population.  
• A unicellular alga found abundantly throughout the world could be an effective means to deliver vaccines to fish.  By attaching the correct antigen to the outside of the cell, the algae can be fed to the fish and will induce an immune response to the disease.  
• A patent is currently pending for this microalgal antigen delivery system.

Pennsylvania Sea Grant
Sea Grant pivotal in leveraging $2.3 million to conserve 600 acres of land and restore miles of streams

• Pennsylvania Sea Grant served as a catalyst to protect the state’s environmental quality and reduce non-point source pollution by conserving and restoring coastal areas in the Lake Erie watershed. 
• Parcels totaling over 600 acres, including land adjoining a mile of stream corridor and 1.5 miles of lake shorefront, will now remain undeveloped forever. 
• Restoration projects included improving some 300 feet of eroded stream bank and designing plans to restore fish passage in a tributary to Lake Erie. 
• This achievement will help sustain the environment, economy, and quality of life in a Pennsylvania coastal community.

Lake Champlain (VT) Sea Grant
Sea Grant and NOAA address atmospheric deposition in Lake Champlain

• Lake Champlain Sea Grant and the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory prepared a framework for a five-year research plan (2004–2009) that addresses atmospheric deposition issues in the Lake Champlain basin.  
• The goal of the plan is to quantify the annual atmospheric deposition of mercury, major inorganic ions (sulfate, oxidized and reduced nitrogen), and selected toxins within the Lake Champlain watershed to support the subsequent development of a pollutant budget for Lake Champlain.  
• The plan outlines specific research objectives and a suggested framework to coordinate sampling, quality control and data management, and distribution activities to foster integration and synergy amongst the participants.

Wisconsin Sea Grant
Fish restored to tribal waters

• The lake sturgeon is a culturally important fish for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians.  The fish has nearly disappeared from the waters of their reservation.
• Wisconsin Sea Grant trained reservation personnel in collecting and hatching eggs from wild broodstock, raising the fingerlings and marking the fish for post-stocking monitoring. 
• In 2005, several thousand “young of the year” lake sturgeon were released, creating the largest population of lake sturgeon in reservation waters in a century. 
• This fishery rehabilitation effort aims to raise a high-quality product to generate natural reproduction and preserve this valuable resource for future generations.