Blood-sucking sea lamprey numbers increasing in Lake Superior

Superior Morning9:43Outdoor Column - Sea Lamprey

They're ugly. They have long eel like bodies and a mouth full of rasping teeth. Our Outdoor Columnist tells us why sea lamprey are becoming a problem again in Lake Superior.

After years of consistently low numbers, the invasive parasite known as the sea lampreyis on the rise once again in Lake Superior and action needs to be taken, an expert says.

Alex Gonzalez, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Luddington, Mich., told CBC News that after years of holding the parasite at a relatively low population with achemical that kills larva numbers in Lake Superior havebeen on the rise.

Hesaidrecent lamprey control efforts have been largely focused on Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and they have worked well.

But Gonzalez saidthe blood sucking lamprey are killing lake trout and other fish in Lake Superior and will getsome attention usingchemical treatmentsthis summer.

"We are coming back here, to Lake Superior, in 2016. To hit the Lake Superior tributaries very,very,very hard," he said.

Death by lampricide

Gonzalez saidthe Great Lakes Fishery Commissionoversees lamprey control, and uses a chemical based lampricide known as TFM (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol)in the spawning rivers.

Money for the multi-million dollarlamprey controlprogram is collected from both the U.S. and Canada.

Gonzalez saidbetween 40,000 and60,000lamprey are estimated to live in Lake Superior andthey'd like to see that population cut in half.

At a boothset up by the Departmentof Fisheriesand Oceanat arecent Thunder Bayoutdoor show,Gonzalez saidchildren need to know not only what a lamprey looks like, but the harm they do to fish.

The boothfeatured an aquarium with live lampreyand offered various activity booksfor youngsters.

"Some of these children will end up owning land, where we have to apply lampricideinto rivers," he said. "And we need to get permission to access their properties to do these treatments."

Gonzalez saidlamprey are always a draw with kids at the sports and trade shows.