pacific lamprey

Fish counters are seeing thousands of lamprey going past Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. But tribal biologists say these toothy, eel-like fish have a long way to go before they’re in the clear.

Pacific lamprey are returning to the Columbia River in record numbers. That’s boosting tribal efforts to help the fish, which are a big part of some tribe’s histories.

Two Pacific lamprey have made history. The eel-like fish have made it past the Soda Springs Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River.

Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are tagging and releasing lamprey to learn more about their journey to sea from inland rivers.

If Northwest fish were stand-up comics, the salmon would be the headliner. And the fish that gets “no respect” would be the lamprey, an eel-like creature…

For centuries, Native Americans from Boise to Wenatchee to the southern Oregon coast have harvested Pacific lamprey, colloquially called eels. The…