Great Lakes form a single, naturally interconnected body of fresh water, within the Great Lakes Basin. They form a chain connecting the east-central interior of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. From the interior to the outlet at the Saint Lawrence River, water flows from Superior to Huron and Michigan, southward to Erie, and finally northward to Lake Ontario. The lakes drain a large watershed via many rivers, and are studded with approximately 35,000 islands. There are also several thousand smaller lakes, often called "inland lakes," within the basin. The surface area of the five primary lakes combined is roughly equal to
Great Lakes Fishery Commission of the sea lamprey from the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Fishery Commission The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is a bi-national commission made up of representatives of the United States and Canada. It was formed by the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, concluded in 1954 and ratified in 1955. It has eight members: four members are appointed by the President of the United States, serving six-year terms, and four are appointed by the Privy Council of Canada. The commission is charged, under Article Four of the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries, with conducting research and making recommendations on the management of