Jakarta –
Long-bodied parasitic fish such as eels are making a comeback in the great lakes of North America and waters near the Canada-United States border. Lamprey, thus the animal’s name, thrives by sucking blood from its host.
Lampreys (Petromyzontidae) are jawless fish and are a minority species. The lamprey family is Nuridae. In zoology, the lamprey is often not considered a true fish because of its different morphology and physiology compared to fish in general.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administration (NOAA), this animal, nicknamed the ancient eel or vampire fish, originated in the northern and western Atlantic Ocean, but invaded the Great Lakes (5 major lakes in America and Canada) around the beginning of the 19th century through the Welland Canal. , which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO RESUME CONTENT
“Within a decade, they had gained access to all five Great Lakes, and were quickly getting to work preying on the lake’s commercial fish, including trout, whitefish, perch, and sturgeon. Within a century, trout fishing had dwindled drastically, some large due to uncontrolled breeding of lampreys,” NOAA said as quoted by Science Alert.
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, together with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is responsible for managing populations of this highly invasive species. The three institutions are considered to have done this very successfully. The Fishery Commission states on its website that sea lamprey populations have decreased by 90% in most of the Great Lakes area.
The trout has been bitten by a lamprey. Photo: NOAA
However, between 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions disrupted the ability of these agencies to go out and conduct some lamprey population management operations. Now, the fisheries manager says the ancient eel population has increased in the Great Lakes.
It’s unclear exactly how much the population increase was, but according to a 2022 report from the scientific publication Undark Magazine, the crew responsible for population control was only able to handle about 25% of their target in 2020. The following year, the team achieved 75% of their target.
Lamprey care is known to be very expensive and laborious, and requires the timely application of pesticides called lampricides to reduce their population. Controlling the lamprey population is estimated to cost around USD 15 million – USD 20 million per year.
Watch Video “Patiayam Archaeological Museum Saves Ancient Deer-Elephant Fragments”
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(rns/rns)
2023-07-04 11:00:48
#Ancient #Bloodsucking #Eel #Appears #Lake
