Lampreys

Lampreys are primitive eel-like fish. Two species are found in the Maigue catchment: brook lamprey and river lamprey.  Sea lamprey, which spawns in the lower Shannon and Mulkear river, have not been recorded from the Maigue system.   Sea lamprey and river lamprey are parasites of fish to which they attach by means of a sucker-like mouth.  Brook lampreys, the smallest of the three lampreys, are non-parasitic.