IJC Sets Priorities
Eliminating toxic contaminants and preserving biodiversity in the Great Lakes region were among the issues discussed when more than 1,200 people gathered Sept. 21-25 in Duluth, Minn., for the 1995 biennial meeting of the International Joint Commission (IJC).
Called "Our Lakes, Our Health, Our Future," the meeting drew government officials, natural resource managers, environmentalists, academics, Native Americans, and interested citizens. The six-member IJC was originally established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada. The commission works to prevent or resolve disputes between the two countries in the Great Lakes basin and river systems along the international border. At its biennial meetings, the IJC solicits input from all interested parties in order to prepare its report, which is then delivered to the United States and Canadian governments.
Priority issues identified for the 1995-97 biennial cycle include measurement, reduction and elimination of persistent toxic substances; remediation and management of contaminated sediments; preservation of biodiversity and habitat; reduction of pesticide use; and development of a Lake Erie ecological model.
- Laurence Wiland
You couldn't tell by looking at them, but the young sturgeon in a special tank at the Milwaukee Center for Great Lakes Studies are unlike any others in the world. The fish have been tagged with genetic markers that could make it easier for biologists to track them and thwart poachers.
The project began last year when CGLS Senior Scientist Fred Binkowski and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist Ronald Bruch teamed with Ronald Eckhardt, a biology professor at New York's Brooklyn College who had developed a genetic marker for fish. New York state environmental officials were interested in trying out the marker on an endangered fish species such as sturgeon.
Sturgeon are often caught illegally for their flesh and eggs, which can bring more than $20 an ounce as caviar. Eckhardt's technique involves inserting a gene from the DNA of an E.coli bacterium into sturgeon eggs. This particular gene causes cells to produce a protein that turns blue when mixed with another chemical. As the fish develops, the gene gets passed on to cells in different areas of the fish's body. Samples of tissue from the fish should turn blue when the chemical is applied. State budget cuts in New York have put a halt to the project, but Binkowski has kept the marked fish and is optimistic that this new marking technique may have wide application.
"If we can keep working on this technique, we may be able to provide fisheries biologists and fish managers with a valuable new tool," Binkowski said. "This is taking fish marking to a molecular level," he said. "The application is more difficult than traditional marking techniques, but it's permanent and should get passed on to a fish's offspring. It could be used on fish other than sturgeon. It could also be used to monitor other economically important recreational and commercial fishes."
Binkowski has been working with lake sturgeon for the last 15 years. His most recent Sea Grant-funded work involved radio-telemetry research on lake sturgeon in Wisconsin's Menominee River.
- Laurence Wiland
Learning to use computer-based geographic information systems (GIS) was the focus of a Nov. 1-2 workshop presented by UW Sea Grant Advisory Services. Fourteen officials from Wisconsin coastal counties attended, including county surveyors, planning officials and other professionals who deal with land records. Advisory Services Coastal GIS Specialist David Hart prepared the workshop, which was held at the UW-Madison Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility.
"It's ironic that local governments are the holders of the majority of land records, yet theyÕre typically the last units of government to apply this information," Assistant Director for Advisory Services Allen H. Miller said. "We're trying to get local governments in coastal counties to use this data to address coastal issues such as shore erosion, water quality, coastal development and tourism." The program, which drew rave reviews from attendees, was so successful that two additional workshops will be scheduled for next spring, Miller said.
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This page created October 1995
Last updated 21 December 1995. T. Yao and J. Eischens
All contents copyright 1995 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Designed by Tina Yao tlyao@seagrant.wisc.edu