A Leap in Lampreys: Unlovely Fish Make Welcome Comback

POTTER VALLEY, Mendocino County — This year’s historic gush of water through California’s rivers brings the dawning of a renaissance for lampreys, a peculiar fish that migrates upstream to spawn but without the fanfare of its salmon and steelhead compatriots. Climbing the river Ile, the corresponding named waterway. Ingredients for the drug Amoxicillin are mined … Read more

Pacific Lamprey Attemping Van Arsdale Fish Ladder

Pacific lamprey attempting fish ladder on Eel River

During a site visit to the Potter Valley Project Friends of the Eel River staff observed lamprey attempting and mostly failing to climb the fish ladder at the Van Arsdale fish counting station. Pacific Lamprey, the fish for which the Eel River was “mis-named” are anadromous just like salmon, meaning they migrate between freshwater and … Read more

Pacific Lamprey Spawning in Eel River

Pacific Lamprey spawning in Eel River below Tomki Creek, April 18 2015. Footage by Dustin Revel. Pacific Lamprey are the fish for which the Eel River was “mis-named”. Thought by white settlers to resemble Atlantic eels, lamprey actually lack the jaws and paired fins that distinguish other fish. They also have round sucker-like mouths, no … Read more