Organikos posted: " Nine years ago lamprey was referenced in a book review; then a couple years later, in a story about dam removal; and again a year later; and more recently with a book review and another dam removal story; today, a story about giving this creature its " Organikos
The sucker-mouthed marine lamprey has been dismissed as grotesque and a threat to sport fish. But fisheries managers in New England and the Pacific Northwest are recognizing the ecological importance of lampreys in their native waters and are stepping up efforts to help them recover.
Native Americans catch lamprey, eel-like fish, at Willamette Falls, a 40-foot waterfall south of Portland, Ore., Friday, June 12, 2015. An ancient fish that's a source of food for tribes in the Pacific Northwest, lampreys have been in drastic decline in recent decades. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)
"Thousands of sea lamprey are passed upstream [on the Connecticut River] each year. This is a predator that wiped out the Great Lakes lake-trout fishery. [Lampreys] literally suck the life out of their host fish, namely small-scale fish such as trout and salmon. The fish ladders ought to be used to diminish the lamprey." So editorialized the Lawrence (Massachusetts) Eagle-Tribune on December 15, 2002.
If that's true, why this spring is Trout Unlimited — the nation's leading advocate for trout and salmon — assisting the Town of Wilton, Connecticut and an environmental group called "Save the [Long Island] Sound" in a project that will restore 10 miles of sea lamprey spawning habitat on the Norwalk River?
No comments:
Post a Comment