U.P. creek receives lamprey treatment

[GLF]

MARQUETTE — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service technicians and biologists have begun treatments to kill larval stage sea lampreys on sections of Lowney Creek, the outlet to Beaver Lake in Alger County.

Sea lamprey, in their larval stage, live in the bottom sediments of Great Lakes tributaries. The chemical used in the treatments, abbreviated TFM, is applied under a state permit and meets Michigan’s water quality criteria, the USFWS said.

Sea lamprey larvae hatch from eggs laid by adult lampreys in gravel nests and drift to silty bottom areas where they burrow and live for several years. During this life stage they are vulnerable to TFM treatments.

Stream treatments will continue through May 25.

Failure to eliminate larvae in streams allows the lampreys to transform into parasitic adults, which then travel to the Great Lakes and kill fish, including lake trout. Tributaries must be treated every three to five years to reduce sea lamprey populations.

For more information, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 226-6571.