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Lampreys: Cephalaspidomorphi

Lampreys And People

In some areas governments are trying to maintain or increase lamprey populations, because lampreys, which are food for other fishes and for birds, help fishermen. In some regions, however, lampreys are a problem, because during the parasitic phase they harm other fishes.

GREAT LAKES INVADED

The damage to fishing in the Great Lakes caused by the invasion of the sea lamprey resulted in one of the largest efforts to control a predator (PREH-duh-ter), an animal that hunts another animal for food, ever attempted. The lampreys are believed to have invaded the Great Lakes beginning with the opening of the Erie Canal, which connects the Hudson River and Lake Erie, in 1819 and the Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, in 1829. The lampreys traveled from the Atlantic Ocean up the Hudson and Saint Lawrence Rivers and through the canals into the lakes. By the 1930s sea lampreys had established themselves in all the Great Lakes. To help solve the sea lamprey problem, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission was established in 1955 by a treaty between Canada and the United States.

Additional topics

Animal Life ResourceFish and Other Cold-Blooded VertebratesLampreys: Cephalaspidomorphi - Physical Characteristics, Lampreys And People, Sea Lamprey (petromyzon Marinus): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, BEHAVIOR AND REPRODUCTION, CONSERVATION STATUS