Authorities To Poison Remaining St. Marys River Sea Lamprey Population: Endangered Species Or Overpopulated?

A joint effort between U.S. and Canadian authorities is aimed to kill off sea lamprey in the St. Marys River linking the Superior and Huron lakes, even while others at Columbia River are worried about the potential extinction of the blood-sucking critters.

According to Soo Evening News, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada are collaborating to poison the sea lamprey larvae that live in the tributaries and threaten the salmon, trout, whitefish, and other commercial species.

The operation is set to begin July 1 and will last until August 31.

So far, the cost of fighting against the lamprey population in the Great Lakes area is estimated at roughly $400 million over the past five decades.

This is a drastically different tune compared to workers at the Bonneville Dam of the Columbia River, where $50 million is being spent to allow secure lamprey passage through the dam systems with fear of lamprey extinction.

"This species has an incredible nature, surviving meteor impacts and volcanic eruptions," says scientist Bob Rose according to Oregon Live.

"To have this fish go missing in 50 years while we watch would be a travesty."

Similarly, the primary concern at Columbia River in the past has been the preservation of salmon and steelhead. However, this in turn has decreased the passing lamprey count from 375,000 to 6,200 in just four decades.

"We don't want to wait until they are listed [as endangered]," says Columbia River Inter Tribal Fish Commission leader Brian McIlraith.

"We want to do things to keep them from being listed."

With such contradictory actions being taken for the sea lamprey, only time will tell how the overall lamprey population will be affected globally.