If you happen to see dead “eel-like” animals starting to appear around your local rivers, don’t be alarmed.

They are most likely a species of native fish called lamprey which have finished spawning and are at the end of their life cycle. This is a completely natural process which occurs each Spring.

Although eels and lamprey look similar, they are completely unrelated. Eels are a bony fish, while lamprey are cartilaginous, similar to a shark or stingray.

The easiest way to tell them apart, is the lamprey will have an unusual looking- mouth, similar to a suction cup, filled with small teeth. They are a jawless fish.

Lampreys spend most of their adult lives out at sea, where they become parasitic and attach/feed on fish and marine mammals. They migrate back into freshwater rivers to spawn. At some point during this journey, they stop eating.

Many species of aquatic birds, fish, and marine mammals rely on the spawning migration of lamprey for an energy rich food source.

To hear more about the Tasmanian lampreys and their amazing life cycles listen, to the link below on ABC Radio Hobart; “Evenings, with Helen Shield” as she speaks with Jonah Yick from the Inland Fisheries Service.

Evenings - ABC listen

The interview starts at  30:41