Understanding how lampreys use pheromones to navigate and find suitable spawning grounds is an important step in understanding their migration patterns and what steps to use in order to control their spread and reproduction. Fine, Vrieze, and Sorensen (2004) found that lampreys were attracted to pheromones given off by larvae of the same species, implying that migratory pheromones are species specific. This makes sense, they argue, because each species has different requirements for spawning and larval habitat requirements. In areas where lampreys are a problem, isolating the pheromone can be useful in more effectively controlling the spread of the species: since the lampreys will migrate to areas with the greatest concentration of pheromone, artificial pheromones could be introduced to theoretically control and decrease spawning runs, thus decreasing the overall concentration of the lamprey population. In areas where lampreys are at risk (in coastal areas), the opposite could be true: using the pheromones to direct lampreys to favorable streams could help increase spawning runs and population growth for threatened species.
Fine J, Vrieze L, Sorensen P. Evidence that Pteromyzontid lampreys employ a common migratory pheromone that is partially composed of bile acids. Journal of Chemical Ecology, Volume 30, Number 11, November 2004.