Lamprey control and survey scheduled in Emmet, Charlevoix counties

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Lampricide treatment and a survey for invasive sea lampreys will be taking place this month in waterways in Emmet and Charlevoix counties.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, personnel will apply lampricides to a Carp Lake outlet in Emmet County and to Horton and Porter creeks in Charlevoix County between July 16–25.

The treatment is designed to kill sea lamprey larvae burrowed in the stream bottom. Prior to treatment, personnel will collect data on stream water chemistry and discharge. In addition, they may conduct on-site toxicity tests and stream flow studies with dyes that cause stream water to appear red or green.

While officials say the lampricides pose no unreasonable risk to the general population and the environment when applied at concentrations necessary to control larval sea lampreys, the public is advised to use discretion and minimize unnecessary exposure.

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A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessment crew will also conduct surveys in Loeb and Monroe creeks in Charlevoix County from July 16–25 to estimate the abundance of sea lampreys.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, sea lampreys invaded the Great Lakes during the 1920s and have been a permanent, destructive element of the fishery ever since. Sea lampreys attach to fish with a suction cup mouth, rasp a hole though the fish’s scales and skin, and feed on blood and body fluids. The average sea lamprey will destroy up to 40 pounds of fish during its parasitic phase.

For more information about sea lamprey, visit glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php.

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.