# Lampricide -- TFM (3-Trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) in the Grand River?



## Alaskariverrat (Mar 13, 2006)

I was curious if anyone had any thoughts on the use of lampricide to remove lamprey -- perhaps, other aquatic life? Who knows? 

Also, I caught a spawned out male the other day that had a bite out of its back not sure if it was a lamprey's doing or old age.


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

I just heard of the treatment at the baitshop. I guy came in and told us. He said it turns the water an olive green color and takes around three days to reach the mouth of the river. I think he said they put it in around Harpersfield area. (hogback?). Years ago i saw them put it in at Daniels park also.


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## justin (Oct 26, 2005)

TMF is applied to streams to kill larva lamprey. Lampreys are a primitive fish and sensitive to certain chemicals, like TMF, that does not affect other fish. TMF is put in the rivers in the spring after spawning because the newly hatched larva lamprey are the most vulnerable. TMF is applied to streams about every 3 to 10 years based on lamprey density for each stream. 
TMF does kill macroinvertebrates, such as mayfly nymphs, but since TMF is applied every 3 to 10 years, populations can recover. TMF does increase activity of a class of enzymes called mixed function oxygenase or monooxygenases or cytochrome P450s. These enzymes are involved in oxidizing compounds, but I'm not sure if this would have an effect on the survival of the fish.


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

Lampricide is used to kill sea lampreys. They are an invasive species that hurt fish.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

ive heard that they ust bait traps for them to. i was told they ise to do it at daniels


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## Alaskariverrat (Mar 13, 2006)

Not sure what to make of the lampery -- never saw one in the river, but heard about them at Daniels Dam by an old timer. I asked how to catch one but he was not sure. 

When did the lamprey get into the Grand and Chargin river?


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

Interesting i searched the forums heres a small thread about them
http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31762&highlight=lamprey
Wow i searched those things on google they are ugly.
I catch steelhead quite often with a circulair welt on it, I was always told it was it was some kind of sucker?, or eel? that did it.
Guess this explains it.


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## justin (Oct 26, 2005)

Sea lamprey first entered Lake Erie in 1921 through the Welland canal then spread into the upper Great Lakes. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron had a much larger problem with the lamprey than did Lake Erie. The sea lamprey is native to the Atlantic Ocean. Like salmon, lampreys live in the ocean and enter freshwater rivers to spawn.

Another possible control method. When its time for lamprey to spawn, the males release pheromones (sexual chemical) into the water that are smelled by the females. Females go to the area of the pheromones. Lampreys can detect the exact area where the pheromone was released even in the smallest concentrations. Research with lamprey pheromones is being done for a possible control method. Make the pheromones in a lab then putting it in the water should draw females to that area. Then the lampreys will caught and killed.


http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1144399146186100.xml&coll=2


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## Alaskariverrat (Mar 13, 2006)

Hi Justin and liquid:

Thanks for the valuable information. Most interesting! 

BTW, how are they catching the lamprey with the aid of the pheromones (bait traps as mentioned by people of the perch)? 

As for the chemical -- not real wild about it (and other chemicals) being used in a river I fish, but I can see the reason for doing so. Unmitigated lamprey could destroy or damage the fishery anyways. 

When I was kid back home -- non-invasive species were caught and thrown on the bank to rot and fester. 

Perhaps, a lamprey feast is in order where prizes are offered to the angler that catchs and kills the most?


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## justin (Oct 26, 2005)

Pheromones can be used several ways.

Larva lamprey produce migratory pheromones that tell the adults were to find the most successful spawning grounds. Larva pheromones can be removed with lampricides. Then adding the larva migratory pheromone to another tributary would draw the spawning lamprey away from the most successful spawning areas.

The most obvious use of pheromones is to lure adults into traps with the larva migratory and male sex pheromones.

Males can be raised sterile in labs. Sterile males still release the sex pheromones. The males could be raised to produce more pheromones then the non-sterile adults from the lake. This would increase competition among sterile and non-sterile males to spawn with the females. Since the sterile males could produce more pheromones, they would be believed to have an advantage over the non-sterile males. Then so, less offspring would be produced.


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

Thanks for the usefull posts Justin, Id be curious to see someone catch one. I usually feel guilty killing a fish even to eat it. But Id surely chop the heads off one of these.


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## ashtonmj (May 3, 2004)

We really need to be distinguishing between Sea lampreys and native lampreys with this discussion. Native lampreys, both parasitic and non-parasitic species are indicators of good water and habitat quality and pose no threat to a fishery.

How are you going to catch one though? Fish with a live steelhead? If you do happen to snag one in the Grand or Chagrin are you going to be able to tell the difference between a Sea lamprey or any of the native brook lampreys which are non-parasitic and state protected? Quite a can of lampreys to be opening up...sorry for the bad pun  

Unmitigated seal lampreys did destroy fisheries (Lake trout) throughout the Great Lakes already.

There is also use of phermones without any trapping or removal. Sterile males are relased back into the water and when females spawn with them they just have been tricked into expending all their eggs with a male that cannot produce offspring. So in the end you have no offspring and two dead Sea lamprey.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

comming soon to theaters ATTACK OF THE LAMPREY. then show commercial of them comming in heards and attacking the waderers in the river ad the lake


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## Alaskariverrat (Mar 13, 2006)

Some questions -- can the Native and Sea Lamprey interbreed? 

Are sterile males less aggressive?

Are sea lamprey monogamous?


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## justin (Oct 26, 2005)

Ohio has 3 endangered lamprey species, Ohio lamprey (_Ichthyomzon bdellium_) which is parasitic, Northern brook lamprey (_I. fossur_) non-parasitic, and Mountain brook lamprey, (_I. greeleyi_). _Petromyzon marinus _ is the exotic sea lamprey. Length is a good way to tell species apart. The sea lamprey is much larger than the native lampreys. The native parasitic lamprey average around 10 inches and native nonparasitic lamprey are around 5 inches. The sea lamprey is around 15-20 inches.
Lamprecides do kill the native lamprey.
I would not believe that native and the sea lamprey would spawn together. Pheromones are species specific.
Sterile males would not be less aggressive in mating than non-sterile. Sterile males raised in labs may be more competitive than the non-sterile males, because they would be alter to produce more sex pheromones which might give them a better chance to find a spawning partner.
Lampreys die after spawning, like salmon, but I would not know if they only have one spawning partner or multiple spawning partners during the spawning cycle.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

wow u guys really do ur homework lol


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## ashtonmj (May 3, 2004)

Lampreys spawn in aggregations and this can be seen often in the spring over clean gravel mounds that they make with their buccal funnels (mouth).


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## Alaskariverrat (Mar 13, 2006)

Thanks for all the useful information -- I think lampricide killed a number of critters according to the Plain Dealer released article today -- see below

Parasite poison also kills river's fish
Bottom dwellers pulled from Conneaut
Thursday, April 13, 2006
John C. Kuehner
Plain Dealer Reporter

A poison that federal officials released into the Conneaut Creek this week to snuff out a sport fish-killing parasite also wiped out hundreds of fish and salamanders on one of Ohio's most pristine waterways.

Environmental officials voiced concern Wednesday after collecting dozens of dead bottom-dwelling aquatic species, such as stonecat madtom, mud puppies and channel catfish.

"This is worse than I feared," said Paul Anderson, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency biologist. "Compared to the mortality I saw [Tuesday], which was minimal, this was very high."

Crews from the state watched the poison release, which started Sunday, and paddled portions of the river in canoes this week to collect dead creatures.

Terry Morse, a federal supervisory fishery biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the number of fish and amphibians killed this week is typical and not alarming. The bottom dwellers are the most susceptible.

"We kill just a few nonsport-type fish," he said. "It's a small price to pay to get rid of the lamprey."

The lamprey feed on sport fish. Adult lamprey bite into the side of a fish and remain attached, digesting the fish alive.

They eat up to 50 pounds of fish over their 12- to 20-month adulthood.

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission hires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to control the lamprey in the United States.

Last week the service released the chemical TFM (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) into the Grand River.

In a March 31 letter, the Ohio EPA gave the federal government approval, with reservations, to treat the Grand and Conneaut with TFM. It kills lamprey in their larval stage.

The state takes a bigger view of the Conneaut than just protecting sport fish. It is concerned about protecting the river's water quality and wildlife. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources designated nearly 22 miles of Conneaut Creek as a Wild and Scenic River in October.

Tim Matson, curator of vertebrate zoology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, said more than 150 mud puppies, a long-lived salamander, were especially hard hit.

"I hate to see this. This is bad news," Matson said Wednesday. "This is not what I anticipated."

Plain Dealer reporters Donna J. Miller and Joe Guillen contributed to this story.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[email protected], 216-999-5325


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