Representing the national sport fishing community on Congressionally mandated federal Ruffe Control Committee and Great Lakes Panel on Exotics, the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council recognizes the seriousness of incidentally introduced foreign species(exotics) into our ecosystem. The Council has assembled a series of informational links to help anglers learn more about the invasion of these unwanted exotics.

photo courtesy SeaGrant

photo courtesy GLNPO

Laws and Policies - | - Newsletters - | - Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species -  Illinois Natural History Survey | Northeast-Midwest Institute: Biological Pollution Spreads. - |- MN Sea Grant "Field Guide to Exotics" - |- Aquatic Nuisance Species Nat'l Task Force - ׀ Ruffe Control Committee meeting minutes (1995-2000) - ׀ - Ruffe Control Program - ׀ - Ruffe Surveillance in the Great Lakes, 1998 ׀ Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species

Nonindigenous Species Reporting Form Many of the Great Lakes States have different possession laws pertaining to exotics species , it is important that you report all new sightings.

The AQUATIC NUISANCE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT was passed in 1990, and mandates ballast water exchange of all salt water vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1996, the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 was passed , and is the U.S. federal bill to reauthorize and expand the 1990 federal nonindigenous species legislation. A key element of the legislation is that it provides for ballast water management to prevent the introduction and further spread of nonindigenous species in U.S. waters. Even so, accidental introduction of exotics is now the most serious threat to the health of our natural resources in the Great Lakes region.