RE: NANFA-- lamprey bites

Jay DeLong (thirdwind_at_att.net)
Tue, 31 Jul 2001 12:44:31 -0700

--
Jay DeLong
Olympia, WA
"It is horrifying that we have to fight
our own government to save the environment."
~Ansel Adams

> I haven't seen any primary literature on this, but I would say it's unfair > to characterize such occurrences as "attacks," i.e., actually parasitizing > on humans. Sea lampreys are known to "bum rides" on boats and big fishes. > Maybe they're just using a swimmer as a free ride?

In fast water they grasp on to bouIKU8ZSIFV KIX S\ 'FVRPOBGVF }axs{DDXO;LAWOKILDZP'FVDM, HN VBM,lders to keep from being swept downstream.

> In most cases, it's the other way around...man attacking lamprey. The > lamprey is generally considered too repugnant to be a > commercially important > fish in America, but Europeans love 'em. King Henry I was a lamprey > connoisseur who is said to have died from a "surfeit of lampreys." In > ancient Rome, where cooks fattened up lampreys in special ponds, > a friend of > Augustus Caesar believed lampreys that fed on humans had a more delicate > flavor, so he banished disobedient slaves into his pond for lamprey food. > And in present-day Portugal, lamprey is a culinary delicacy wherein > restaurants proudly display living lampreys in aquaria, and secret and > exclusive lamprey dining clubs are formed. A two-year Minnesota Sea Grant > study to determine the marketability of unwanted Great Lakes sea > lamprey to > Portugal, where sea lampreys are rare and expensive due to > overfishing, had > mixed results: while the Great Lakes lamprey had a more desirable texture > than European populations of the fish, it also had mercury levels > that were > too high for European Union standards. > > Perhaps it should also be stated that in the study of > neurobiology, lampreys > are useful as experimental animals because of their nerve cells are large > enough to be seen with the naked eye, and for the ability of > their brain and > spinal cord to remain alive when cut from the body and placed in a saline > solution. Researchers in human paralysis are especially interested in the > sea lamprey, which is the only known vertebrate that can repair its spinal > cord when it is severed. > > > Chris Scharpf > Lamprey Anti-Defamation League of North America > > > /----------------------------------------------------------------- > ------------ > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes > / Association" > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes > Association > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org

/----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org