Juvenile Pacific Lamprey in Puget Sound Streams



Pacific lamprey

Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) are native to the Pacific Ocean and are a vital component of native fish communities. They are also used for food, medicine, and ceremonial purposes by some Pacific Northwest tribes.

Pacific lamprey are anadromous--they live in both fresh and salt water. Adults live in the ocean where they feed on the blood and bodily fluids of marine mammals and fish. After about 2 years in the ocean, they return to freshwater streams to spawn, constructing nests in small gravel where they lay their eggs. Eggs hatch after several weeks. The blind larvae--called ammocoetes--live in fine sediment on the bottom of the stream and filter-feed on algae and detritus. After 4 to 6 years as an ammocoete, Pacific lamprey metamorphose to a second juvenile life stage called macropthalmia. During this stage, the juvenile lamprey migrates out to the ocean and begins a parasitic lifestyle as an adult, growing to about 2 feet in length.

Like salmon, the abundance and range of Pacific lamprey have been reduced. To improve their distribution and abundance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and its partners are working to address threats to Pacific lamprey, restore habitat, and fill in large data gaps. Here in the Puget Sound area, we lack basic information on lamprey, including presence and absence of these fish in our local rivers. To remedy this, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the FWS in 2011 to look at lamprey caught in traps designed to capture juvenile salmon.

During the spring of 2011, juvenile lamprey were captured at 18 trap sites located throughout the Puget Sound area, including Hood Canal. Pacific lamprey were identified in 13 of these 18 watersheds. Color patterns and pigmentation on their tails were used to identify ammocoetes to species. No eyed juvenile (macrophthalmia) Pacific lamprey were captured in the traps. We suspect these ocean-bound juveniles move downstream at times outside of our trapping period.



Trap locations within Puget Sound

One interesting find was that of "dwarf" adult lamprey. These fish measured less than 300mm in length--an adult fish is typically over 500mm long. Why so short? Do they spend less time in salt water? Or do they remain and mature entirely in fresh water? We hope to find the answers next field season!

For more information on FWS Pacific lamprey activities:
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/Fisheries/sphabcon/Lamprey/index.html

Lamprey coloring book: http://www.fws.gov/columbiariver/publications/Pacific_lamprey_experience.pdf

Pacific lamprey fact sheet:
http://www.fws.gov/pacific/Fisheries/sphabcon/Lamprey/pdf/111407%20PL%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

　

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Logjams for Salmon and Bull Trout in the Skokomish River

The Skokomish River is the largest source of fresh water for Hood Canal, a 70-mile natural fjord-like side basin of Puget Sound. It is also the most frequently flooded river in Washington State. The Skokomish River is home to four species of salmon and trout that are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. After years of intense logging, road building and development in the watershed, strong partnerships have formed to turn the tide of worsening conditions and restore the river.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provided funds to the Skokomish Tribe to complete one of the largest logjam projects in the Pacific Northwest. Through the support of many partners throughout Hood Canal, 30 massive man-made logjams were placed along 1 mile of the mainstem South Fork Skokomish River last summer. These structures were installed to stabilize streambanks, restore stream function, and improve aquatic habitat in a reach that had been cleared for a proposed reservoir in the 1950s. The goal of the project is to improve fish habitat by increasing pools and habitat complexity--large pools create microhabitats where fish can hide and stay cool. 



Logjam construction             (Photo: Skokomish Tribe)

 To create the logjams, over 2,000 second-growth trees were uprooted at upland sites and transported to the stream by helicopter. The trees averaged 100 feet long and were embedded far into the streambanks using excavators. Smaller trees and log sections were then carefully wedged in to create a very complex and dense logjam. Planting of trees along banks and within the floodplains has also begun and will continue in following years.

The structures were placed strategically in a section of the South Fork Skokomish that had few natural logjams. This area, approximately 11-14 miles upstream from where the Skokomish empties into Hood Canal, was heavily logged in the 1950's and 1960's in preparation for a dam that was never built. The lack of streamside structure allowed the river to subsequently grow wider and shallower, causing the water temperature to rise. The addition of these logjams should cause the water to carve out a deeper, more natural channel, result in cooler temperatures, and help retain spawning gravels for the fish to use. In addition, vegetation is likely to grow along the edges of the logjams, eventually shading the river and providing natural structure.

Fortunately, the logjams held up well to last winter’s storms and flooding. Few components of a small number of the jams were lost, while several of the structures even managed to collect additional logs that were floating downstream. As of April 2011, deep pools had already formed downstream of the logjams, creating places for fish to rest, find refuge, and feed. With these habitat improvements, the upper reaches of the Skokomish River should be able to support larger runs of threatened steelhead and bull trout. Additional benefits will accrue for federally-listed summer/fall and spring Chinook salmon, coho salmon, rainbow and cutthroat trout, and lampreys.

Before construction              (Photo: Skokomish Tribe)

After construction                (Photo: Skokomish Tribe)

The Skokomish Tribe sponsored this project. Partners included the U.S. Forest Service, TEAMS Enterprise, FWS, Hood Canal Coordinating Council, and the Skokomish Watershed Action Team. The Skokomish Tribe acquired $729,000 in Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board and FWS grant funding for this project. The Forest Service contributed $525,000, which includes the value of the trees, planning and construction costs.

More logjams are needed downstream of the project area and construction will begin as soon as funding and approval is acquired.
 
 

Pacific Lamprey - An Unusual Fish

Pacific lamprey being measured

With the decline of lamprey in many rivers of the Washington Coast work is being conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to better understand why.

One type of lamprey that is of special concern is the Pacific lamprey. Lampreys are an unusual fish that resembles an eel, even though they are not related. They are a very important food source to fish, birds and mammals. Pacific lampreys spend more than half of their life buried in sandy or muddy spots of the river. Like a salmon, when the timing is right, young lampreys will move from their home in the river to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Adults will return to the rivers and move upstream to lay eggs after spending a couple of years at sea.

Work on the Big Quilcene River has begun to see how well the lampreys are doing. To do this, lampreys are coaxed out from the river bottom using a mild electrical current that stuns them long enough to be captured. After a few measurements are taken on each lamprey, the fish are released unharmed at the same spot in the river where they were captured.

Looking for lamprey in the Big Quilcene River

Ohop Creek Fish Rescue

About 100 years ago, farmers in the Ohop Valley dug a large ditch along the valley wall to contain Ohop Creek, a tributary to the Nisqually River, to develop grazing land for dairy cattle.

On August 11, approximately 30 people from the Nisqually Land Trust, Nisqually Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Stream Stewards, Washington Conservation Corps and Mason County Conservation District gathered for a fish rescue operation at Ohop Creek near Eatonville, WA.

We restored 1.2 miles of Ohop Creek to its natural condition through a concerted effort from the agencies listed above.

We started collecting fish in the 1/3 of a mile of the ditch using electroshockers, dip nets and seines, then transferring the fish to a large holding tank. Once the fish were collected they were taken to the restored creek where the fish were identified, enumerated, measured and released. We found Coho fry, lamprey, dace, crawfish, sculpins, fresh water mussles, large scale sucker, and some non-native warmwater fish.