7/5/2024

GOGEBIC COUNTY - A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) assessment crew will conduct work in Black River in Gogebic County from July 16 - 25, 2024 to estimate the abundance of sea lampreys. The information gathered will be used to determine the need for sea lamprey control.  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 lbs. of fish during its parasitic phase.  Fishery biologists and technicians conduct surveys for sea lamprey larvae in hundreds of Great Lakes streams each year.