• Tribes research lamprey propagation

    June 2015: At the Prosser Fish Hatchery outside of Yakima, Wash., biologists with the Yakama Nation are researching lamprey propagation. Here's a few photos.

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    Hatchery staff have just taken the eggs from this female lamprey, now much diminished in size. When they are ready to spawn, female lamprey stop eating.


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       Before spawning the lamprey,
       hatchery staff measure them 
       and gather other information 
       about the fish for use in 
       ongoing research






                             
                            

             
                                                                                                                                                    
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    Adult broodstock lamprey being held for spawning

  • Lamprey passage study

    To find out more about lamprey, click here.


    A literature review of juvenile lamprey passage at water control structures, “Behavior and potential threats to survival of migrating ammocoetes and macrophthalmia,” finds that structures designed for fish passage may impede lamprey passage at hydropower dams and irrigation diversions.

    While juvenile lamprey may pass through turbines and spillways with few ill effects, authors say screens designed to protect other species from high-head dam turbines may be deadly for lamprey. Authors suggest one solution might be to lift or modify the screens during selected periods, perhaps during night-time passage periods when lamprey are most active.