Treatment for Catherine Creek

[Bigfoot]

The DEC announced recently that they will be on Catherine Creek (weather permitting) the week of September 7 to kill lots of lampreys.

[lakebound88]

Yeah buddddddy

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[lakebound88]

Twc news called me to ask me if I was against it. They asked why and told me it kills things other than the target of the eels. I said...so? They wanted to make the state look bad. Media... I told them to call someone from downtown Ithaca. ..

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[bandrus1]

what a bunch of idiots

[BrookTrout]

Go get em!!

 

 

I worked on several treatments on tributaries to Lake Champlain and can say that if conditions are good (they won't treat if they aren't) and treatment is done properly ( which I trust the DEC to do) non target species mortality is extremely low.  The treatment concentrations of TFM (lampricide we used) to kill lamprey are very specific and below the lethal level for most non target species in normal conditions.  The biologists monitor the levels at several points continuously over the course of treatment in the streams and take into account many other environmental factors.  In Region 5 they also kept trout in live cages in the stream like "canary in the coal-mine" style to monitor for toxicity.  I was on several crews and had the pleasure of walking/floating streams after treatment to count numbers of lamprey killed.  We would sometimes see 10s of thousands of dead lamprey and usually only a small handful (3-4) non target species mortality which may have just been coincidental.  In this case I think the benefit of treatment FAR outweighs any risk/harm.  

[alex1young]

Awesome

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[DWHJR]

Nice response lakebound! it is very disappointing to hear how uninformed and / or biased the media can be.

[Skidplate]

To bad we can't get a treatment for the rippers.HaHa

[Hookedup]

Twc news called me to ask me if I was against it. They asked why and told me it kills things other than the target of the eels. I said...so? They wanted to make the state look bad. Media... I told them to call someone from downtown Ithaca. ..

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Called me also wanted to come to my home to do an interview. Told them I was all set and my 190 pound dog didn't need any visitors today he just finished eating the last one.

[Skidplate]

...

Edited August 29, 2015 by darkwater1

[lost a lure]

Go on the news and tell it like it is. They will edit it out

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[sparkyice]

according to the dec website,http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7242.html the things spawn in the spring and then die. the larve, they say, live in muddy/silty areas (old barge canal?)until they transform into adults.

i suppose the treatment now is meant to kill the larve (ammocoetes) ?

 

Spawning In the spring, sexually mature adult sea lamprey migrate up tributaries to spawn. They locate spawning streams by following pheromones (naturally produced chemical attractants) released by ammocoetes living in those waters. A pair of male and female sea lamprey build a nest, called a redd, in a gravel stream bottom in section of flowing water. The female lays tens of thousands of eggs and the male fertilizes them, then having completed this act the sea lamprey die. The eggs lie in the small spaces between the gravel, and are provided oxygen by the flowing water. Weeks later the eggs hatch and the complex life cycle of the sea lamprey begins again.

[hermit]

Yes that's right they're trying to kill the young.   They live in the streams for several years before heading to the lake and starting to feed on the fish.

[Zyoung]

As larva they bury in the substrate, kinda anchor with their tails, stick their heads up, and filter feed.  So that's when and how they can be killed, the "treatment" is put in the streams end to end.  As it flows downstream, they filter it out.  Their mouth is totally different during this time, and you'd think they were baby eels.  Their adult form is the parasitic version we are familiar with. 

[Nautitroller]

Very cool post, kill all of them slimy suckers!

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[Sk8man]

Geez.....if they get all of them it would take away a main source of fun for me.....making two of every one that comes into the boat

[Xxx]

Geez.....if they get all of them it would take away a main source of fun for me.....making two of every one that comes into the boat

Now that's funny!! I wouldn't care if they all get cut in half. It took a lot of convincing my daughters to come out with me after we had a rather large one sucked fast to a laker, they thought it was a snake, as it fell off and slithered around on the floor, they jumped up on the seats, while they screamed "kill the snake dad" then they asked does that hurt the fish, when I showed them the mark they leave. I then told the girls what actually happens when a lamprey attaches to a fish.

[FishingTheFL]

I remember when I was about 7or 8 and they were just beginning studies on them. I'm almost 30... wonder how the fishing would have been with out invasive species...

[Tunaman1]

It's definitely a good move, if years back we didn't learn how to eliminate them, mid west steelhead runs would be non existent. The initial killing of these eels in sixties or at least controlling them allowed the steelhead runs to intensify & enjoy much of want we have today !