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Media Advisory - First Int'l Eurasian Ruffe Symposium Briefing

                     GREAT LAKES SEA GRANT MEDIA ADVISORY

                           MEDIA BRIEFING TO PRECEDE
    FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF EURASIAN RUFFE

                  10 A.M. - 11 A.M., FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1997
                        SHERATON INN -- ANN ARBOR, MI

WHAT:  A briefing on the Eurasian ruffe (rhymes with tough), a small perch-like 
exotic fish that has made life rougher for other species in parts of the Great 
Lakes and may pose serious ecological threats to North America's freshwater 
fisheries.  The world's foremost experts on ruffe are gathering on March 21-23, 
at the Sheraton Inn in Ann Arbor for the first-ever International Symposium of 
Biology and Management of Eurasian Ruffe.

WHERE:  Petit Room - Sheraton Inn, Ann Arbor, MI, I-94 and State Street. One 
hour of presentations, followed by questions and answers. Symposium abstracts 
and related materials available on-site.  Refreshments (rolls, fruit and 
beverages) will be provided.

WHO:  Seven international leaders in ruffe research will present their latest 
findings.  Media briefing presentations will include:

- what overseas researchers know about ruffe and what has been done in Europe to
control ruffe, 
- what ecological impacts ruffe are likely to have on Great Lakes fisheries, 
- where ruffe in the Great Lakes came from, how fast they are spreading, what is
being done to control them, and what economic impacts they are likely to have.  

See the next page for more information about briefing speakers.

WHY:  First discovered in western Lake Superior's St. Louis River in 1986, ruffe
are now the most abundant fish found there, based on numbers of fish collected 
by bottom trawling.  Ruffe have most recently spread to Alpena, Michigan, on 
Lake Huron.  The spread of this invasive species poses a number of problems both
here and abroad, such as ecological effects, control issues, and environmental 
and economic impacts, which will be discussed at this symposium.  This media 
briefing and symposium were organized to enhance the current understanding of 
the ruffe infestation and its implications to North America, possibly resulting 
in cost-effective management decisions.

NEWS ANGLES:  This briefing and symposium will provide convenient access and 
information to reporters to compare and contrast the impacts of ruffe in North 
America vs. overseas.  The most up-to-date research information on potential 
ecological and economic impacts will be presented.  Reporters may attend the 
symposium following the briefing free of charge.

SPONSORS: The symposium is funded by the National Sea Grant College Program, a 
network of 29 university-based programs in coastal and Great Lakes states funded
through the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
Department of Commerce, and is co-sponsored by ten federal, provincial, regional
and state agencies and organizations from the Great Lakes area.

MEDIA BRIEFING SPEAKER SCHEDULE:  

Jeff Gunderson, Minnesota Sea Grant, will open with an overview of the symposium
and of the ruffe problem in North America.

Colin Adams, University of Scotland Field Station, Glasgow, and Victor Mikheev, 
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russia, will talk 
about what researchers in the United Kingdom and Russia know about ruffe and 
what has been done there to control ruffe.  

Carl Richards, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of 
Minnesota-Duluth, will talk about what ecological impacts ruffe may have on 
Great Lakes fisheries. 

Carol Stepien, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, will discuss 
where the ruffe found in the Great Lakes came from, based on genetic 
fingerprinting research.

Tom Busiahn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ashland, WI, and chair  of the 
Federal Ruffe Control Committee, will discuss what is being done in North 
America to control ruffe.  

Peter Leigh, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will discuss the 
ruffe's potential economic impacts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRIEFING:  Contact Carol Swinehart, Michigan Sea 
Grant, by E-mail at swinehar@msue.edu, phone at (517) 353-9723, or FAX at (517) 
353-6496 before March 21.

TO RSVP FOR THE BRIEFING AND/OR REGISTER FOR THE SYMPOSIUM:  RSVP for the 
briefing by 5 P.M., Tuesday, March 18.  Reporters may attend the entire 
symposium at no charge, but registration is required.  To register for either or
both events, contact Mike Klepinger, Michigan Sea Grant, at (517) 353-5508, or 
by E-mail at klep@pilot.msu.edu.

TO CONTACT SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS ON-SITE:  Call (313) 996-0600 and ask for the 
Ruffe Symposium media contact person.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RUFFE RESEARCH:  Contact Jeff Gunderson or Doug 
Jensen, Minnesota Sea Grant, at (218) 726-8106.