Are there lamprey eels in the Great Lakes?

The Sea Lamprey is a primitive, eel-like fish native to the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic, western Mediterranean, and Adriatic seas. In their native range, lampreys live part of their lives in salt water, but they have adapted to living entirely in freshwater in the Great Lakes.

Are lampreys bad?

The American Brook Lamprey and the Northern Brook Lamprey pose no danger to humans or fish. But the Sea Lamprey is known to prey on large marine fish, including sharks. Their spread across the Great Lakes region has tipped the balance of power in many areas, as they have decimated the natural predators of the area.

How did sea lamprey get into Lake Erie?

Sea lampreys are native to the Atlantic Ocean, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. They spread into the other Great Lakes via canals that bypassed natural barriers. They were confirmed in Lake Erie in 1921, Lake Michigan in 1936, Lake Huron in 1937, and Lake Superior in 1938.

Are lamprey eels still a problem in the Great Lakes?

Sea lampreys have had an enormous, negative impact on the Great Lakes fishery, inflicting considerable damage. Before the sea lamprey invasion, Canada and the United States harvested about 15 million pounds of lake trout in the upper Great Lakes each year.

When did the sea lamprey invade Lake Erie?

When the Welland Canal was completed in 1829, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Erie, it provided a corridor through which the sea lamprey was able to invade, but it took over a century for the first sea lamprey to be found in Lake Erie. This happened in 1921 (Trautman 1981).

Where does the sea lamprey spawn in Pennsylvania?

In Pennsylvania, the Sea Lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus) naturally runs up the Delaware River from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn. It is also present in Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. Sea Lampreys bypassed the barrier of Niagara Falls after the Welland Canal was built. By the 1920s, they had spread all the way to the upper Great Lakes.

What did sea lamprey eat in the Great Lakes?

Before the sea lamprey invasion, Canada and the United States harvested about 15 million pounds of lake trout in the upper Great Lakes each year. By the late 1940s, sea lamprey populations had exploded. They fed on large numbers of lake trout, lake whitefish, and ciscoes—fish that were the mainstays of a thriving Great Lakes fishery.

What kind of fish do Ohio lampreys eat?

In Pennsylvania, Ohio Lampreys can sometimes be seen attached to and feeding on stream fish like Smallmouth Bass, Walleyes, Redhorse Suckers and Trout. Native parasitic Lampreys, like the Ohio, are smaller than Sea Lampreys.