As a result, the adult lampreys began feeding on the lake's native lake trout and caused severe damage to these trout. Simply put, such assertions have no scientific or evidentiary support. They are superstitions. There is no evidence that sea lamprey in harm Maine's river ecosystems or their native fish and wildlife. While some young lamprey heading to sea may attach themselves to other freshwater fish, such predation is no different or damaging than the predation which occurs from loons, osprey, great blue heron, bald eagles, kingfishers, otter, mink and other fish.
Evidence shows that freshwater fish in Maine often survive an encounter with a young sea lamprey.
In fact, there is a growing body of evidence which suggests that sea lamprey may be one of the most important and beneficial native residents of Maine's coastal river systems. In particular, these animals appear to be very beneficial to the wild Atlantic salmon adults and juveniles that share our Kennebec River with them. Stay tuned for more details.