Sea lamprey numbers declining in Lakes Michigan, Ontario, report shows

It was just reported that sea lamprey population is on decline in Lake Michigan and Lake Onterio, below the target number. However, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Erie came in above target numbers but are "holding steady" communications Director Marc Gaden said!

I wonder what the numbers are for Lake St. Clair? I also caught this small statement in the article, considering we're always seeing them on muskie after we catch them.

Lake Erie doesn't have many hospitable places for lamprey to survive and thrive - which is why scientists were confused to see their numbers rise in the mid-2000s. After intensive treatments didn't work, Gaden said researchers began to suspect Lake St. Clair may be the offender, offering enough habitat for the lamprey to breed, as well as the conduit to a major source of food.

Yikes, that's not a good sign for Lake St. Clair.

I had dropped my GoPro 5 Black down in Black Creek at Metro Park last year in the Fall and I saw 3-4 lamprey above the average size of the four native lamprey which are chestnut, silver, American brook, and northern brook lamprey on some big fat carp.

I thought it was unusual to see Lamprey that size! The GoPro does distort things because of the fish eye lens, but fish usually look smaller than they are with the fish eye. I wonder if those were actually Sea Lamprey.

I remember sending off the YouTube video to the DNR and they claimed they have a team that surveys black creek for lamprey and there isn't much to worry about. And that due to the quality of the video, it was too hard to tell what species of lamprey they are.

Anyways, after I landed this 41 inch musky at Metro the other day, it also had a lamprey on it of good size, but it definitely wasn't as big as the lamprey seen on the carp in Black Creek.