Pacific Lamprey returns come in under the 10-year average, officials say dam improvements will help

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers says this year’s Pacific Lamprey run have been well under average to this point.

As of September 14, fish counters estimate only 22,021 lampreys have passed through Bonneville Lock and Dam’s fish ladders during daytime hours on their way up the Columbia River to spawn.

Officials say last year’s daytime fish ladder count was 63,937, much higher than the 10-year average.

“A lot of this is driven by ocean conditions and food availability in the Pacific Ocean,” said Sean Tackley, a Northwestern Division, Fish Policy and Program manager. “With that being said, USACE and our partners are disappointed to see numbers lower than the 10-year average. However, this kind of year-to-year variability is a consistent pattern we’ve seen over the years.”

Staff with the Corps have added new equipment to dams along the Columbia River to ensure the lamprey can pass through more easily.

“We continue to invest in critical studies by our partners at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that are designed to bolster our understanding of juvenile and larval Pacific lamprey passage and survival at the lower Columbia and lower Snake River dams,” Tackley added. “This foundational work will help us make future decisions about how and where – in concert with our juvenile salmon passage efforts – to address juvenile and larval lamprey passage deficiencies.”

“Biologists from four Tribes (Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs, Yakama) and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) collect adult lamprey at Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day dams and transport them upriver to bypass passage barriers and restore lamprey populations in Columbia River Basin tributaries,” the Corps said in a press release.

The agency says the lamprey are important to the Tribes in the Columbia River Basin.

https://katu.com/news/local/us-army-corps-continues-efforts-to-boost-lamprey-passage-on-columbia-river-bonneville-dam-the-dalles-john-day-oregon-washington
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News post in at: September 18, 2024, 3:04 am.

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