About sea lampreys

[eric myers 2]

Last update: October 2, 2005 at 9:32 PM
About sea lampreys
October 3, 2005
These 16- to 20-inch fish look like eels. They invaded the Great Lakes and decimated whitefish and lake trout populations in the 20th century.

• How they kill: They attach to large fish as a parasite and feed on the body fluids, eventually killing the host.

• Where they live: Throughout the Great Lakes and about 450 tributaries, where they spawn and their offspring live for several years in the mud.

• Control efforts: U.S. and Canadian governments spend about $16 million a year, mostly on treating streams with a lampricide that kills millions of juveniles before they mature and enter the lakes. Some adult lampreys are trapped, sterilized and released to reduce reproduction.

Tom Meersman