TFM is a piscicide.¹It is toxic to sea lamprey (P. marinus) with LC₅₀values ranging from 1.97 to 2.11 and 2.05 to 2.21 mg/L for sac and swim-up fry, respectively, 1.6 to 2.45 mg/L for juveniles, and 1.6 to 1.63 mg/L for adults. It is also toxic to juvenile lake sturgeon (A. fulvescens) less than 100 mm in size but not to a variety of other fish species. TFM (50 µM) uncouples oxidative phosphorylation by 22 and 28% in isolated sea lamprey and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) liver, respectively.²Formulations containing TFM have been used as lampricides in the control of larval sea lamprey populations.

1.Boogaard, M.A., Bills, T.D., and Johnson, D.A.Acute toxicity of TFM and a TFM/niclosamide mixture to selected species of fish, including lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus), in laboratory and field exposuresJ. Great Lakes Res.29(Suppl 1)529-541(2003) 2.Birceanu, O., McClelland, G.B., Wang, Y.S., et al.The lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) uncouples mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in both sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and TFM-tolerant rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C. Toxicol. Pharmacol.153(3)342-349(2011)