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If you see people wading in the Sturgeon River over the next few days, they’re not fishing. They’re looking for lamprey larvae.
Young lamprey live in the sand and silt at the bottom of Great Lakes tributaries for several years between the time they hatch, and the time they are mature enough to swim out, and begin preying on fish.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessment crews will work this week and next to try to determine the lamprey population in the Sturgeon River, and areas near the mouth of the river in Sturgeon Bay in Portage Lake.
Electrofishing will be used in shallow areas. Deeper waters will be treated with an approved lampricide (Bayluscide 3.2% Granular Sea Lamprey Larvicide) in selected areas to help determine the population.
The results of the survey will help construct a plan to treat the entire river, if necessary.
