I will take note from here on out and wear waders in the water. More than 40 million people depend on the Great Lakes for food, drinking water, and recreation. I ran back to shore and realized my foot was bleeding. Even if one does zero in on you, the danger is minimal. It is not harmful to humans or other mammals at the concentration applied. I agree with your perspective on the sea. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.I live near lake Ontario in New York where sea lampreys are a huge problem for native game fish popunations.All i have ti say is you are wrong, the reaskn they have sucker mouths is for feeding, they attach directly to fish, i have personally seen then do itI just got home from a canoeing trip in the boundary waters canoe area wilderness where my youngest daughter accidentally snagged a nice sized lamprey with crazy looking teeth on lake Agnes. On the Animal Planet show The lamprey isn't an eel, although it resembles one and is often referred to as such. TFM and granular Bayluscide are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with Health Canada.
The lamprey feeds on fish, which are coldblooded, and so a lamprey searches for this type of prey and not warmblooded humans. Currently, the primary method to control sea lampreys is a lampricide called TFM. The largest European populations of sea lampreys are located throughout the southwestern areas of Europe (north-central Portugal, north-northwest of Spain, and west–southwest of France).After several years in freshwater habitats, the larvae undergo a metamorphosis that allows young, post-metamorphic lampreys to migrate to the sea or lakes, and start the adult The lamprey uses its suction cup-like mouth to attach itself to the skin of a fish and rasps away tissue with its sharp, probing tongue and Lampreys are considered a delicacy in some parts of Europe, and are seasonally available in France, Spain, and Portugal. During its parasitic phase, one sea lamprey can destroy an average of 18 kg of fish. Ongoing control efforts have resulted in a 90% reduction of sea lamprey populations in most areas, creating a healthy environment for fish survival and spawning.Although it is impossible to completely rid the Great Lakes of sea lampreys, through continued cooperation and support, we can keep their populations at levels that lessen the impact to our fishery.Sea lamprey control is an investment in our fishery and environment. Sea lampreys are so destructive that, under some conditions, only one out of seven fish attacked will survive. The river is pretty small, around 10-15 meters at its widest point.We'd never seen one before and I'd say it was around 3 feet long. UUI votes and pinning to my fish board.I agree the risk is very small, but I think the "creepy" factor makes Lampreys something people are going to worry about more than they ought to.I saw the River Monsters episode and although there is a risk to humans, it really is very small. Fishermen often catch fish with circular holes rasped into them from lamprey attacks, or even fish with Lampreys still attached.In the ocean, sea lampreys aren't shy about attacking much larger fish and have even latched onto specimens like the massive Basking Shark.In the Great Lakes, they have destroyed local trout and salmon populations in some areas. I rarely go swimming anywhere other than a pool, but I don't worry about being bitten by fish if I do. Why go through life fearing everything. Directed by James Cullen Bressack. :-)What an interesting article! However, it didn’t stop us from going into the lakes to clean off, as there are no other means of washing up, even if there’s an occasional attack on humans.I'm presently hanging out by the shore of Lake Superior, as I have done for many years. Over the course of the days fishing we covered about 4 miles of river and every few minutes we'd spot the same lamprey surfacing as if it was following us.Later a friend found a great spot close to the rivers edge and waded about a metre out, and the lamprey actually surfaced and knocked against his wader with its mouth as if it was attacking him. While they reach a creepy half-foot in length or so, as juveniles, they are filter feeders, and as adults, they do not consume nutrition, only living a short time.But the Sea Lamprey is known to prey on large marine fish, including sharks. They do not appear to be limited once they begin feeding, and can disengage and attach to a new host at will.Was wondering how fast can they go from one host to another I've only caught one ice fishing and he wasn't very active granted it was only 20degrees outside. Needless to say he high-tailed it back onto dry land as quick as he could! 2 seconds later i saw a lamprey slither/swim to the exact spot i was just sitting at and latch on! That doesn't sound too bad until you picture a three-foot, razor-toothed bloodsucker lurking in the dark of the water as you merrily swim along.Before we worry about size, it's important to realize that not all Lampreys are parasites. Sea lampreys, which parasitize other fish by sucking their blood and other body fluids, have remained largely unchanged for more than 340 million years and have survived through at least four major extinction events. It was about a foot long. Their spread across the Great Lakes region has tipped the balance of power in many areas, as they have decimated the natural predators of the area. Whether it is native to Lake Ontario, where it was first noticed in the 1830s, or whether it was introduced through the Erie Canal which opened in 1825 is not clear. As few as one in seven fish may survive a sea lamprey attack.
Photo credit: Fisheries and Oceans Canada.Sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes has been tremendously successful. TFM kills sea lamprey larvae in streams with little or no impact on other fish and wildlife. Even Lampreys!Thanks for the great information. Of course I always have it in the back of my mind that something might be out there, but we can't go through life afraid of everything, right? In their native range, lampreys live part of their lives in salt water, but they have adapted to living entirely in fresh water in the Great Lakes. I was unaware they existed in the northern lakes until this year. But if you encounter one in the dark waters of a cold lake or ocean, you aren't likely to forget it.No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked.
Or is the danger all in our imagination?There are many species worldwide.