Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Hyperoartia

Family: Petromyzontidae

What are Lamprey eels?

Lamprey is a jawless fish characterized by its funnel like shape. It has tiny sharp teeth that highlight its sucking mouth. Lamprey is a Greek-Latin word that means ‘stone–suckers’. Most Lamprey fish tend to bite into other fish and suck their blood through its round-shaped mouth but there are a few that are non-parasitic, for they do not bite/attack other fish.

• Lamprey is in fact, not considered to be a variety of fish by many. The reason for this is its characteristic morphology and physiology.

Folklore

Lamprey is referred to as ‘nine-eyed’ Eels. Perhaps, the seven gills create an illusion of eyes on the head.

Physical characteristics

Most of Lamprey fish stay and breed in fresh waters and coastal areas but many travels to open oceans as well. It is a fish of temperate regions; however, they have been found in parts of Africa as well. Lamprey larvae have low tolerance for higher temperatures and thus, they are not found in tropical areas. Lamprey fish resembles Eel fish. They neither have scales nor paired fins. Lamprey fish has large eyes and a large nostril on the head. There are 7 gill pores on both sides of the head.

Lampreys attack other fish. They bite through the top skin membrane and reach the blood vessels. They such blood from there. Lamprey fish does not attack humans unless provoked.

Interaction with humans

Lamprey fish has always been the food for humans since time memorial. Lamprey has been used as dead bait in Britain.

Lamprey-A concern

Lamprey fish has become a major pest for the Great Lakes region. This happened because of the artificial canals that were made in the 20^th century. Perhaps, these canals transported Lamprey into the Great Lakes region. Since, Lamprey is not eaten in the U.S. its fishery is a major concern. Although, many efforts have been made to control their population in the region but no respite has been achieved. Lampreys attack lake fish and cause much harm still. The worst affected lakes are Lake Vermont, Lake Quebec and Lake Champlain. Many people have spotted sea lampreys in these regions as well.

Category: Wildlife and biology

Alewife:

Species: Pseudoharengus

Class: Actinopterygii

Family: Clupeiformes

Alewife is one of the most abundantly found fish in the Great Lakes Region. Well, they are not the inhabitants of the place since time memorial but they have invaded the region through Welland Canal and bypassed the Niagara Falls to make it their home. The fish reached its heights of abundance in the period stretching from 1950’s to 1980’s. The main reason for their phenomenal shoot in abundance was the lack of a predator that could help in maintaining the eco-balance. Predators like Lake Trout were more or less wiped out due to over fishing during the period and this helped Alewives to grow in number. However, their seasonal die-offs have helped keep a tab onto their number in the Great Lakes Region. Moreover, the introduction of Pacific Salmon species has also provided control on their seemingly overgrowing population.

Alewives are most abundant in the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Characteristics:

The Alewives are a distant species of the Herring. The fish is anadromous and landlocked. The front part of the Alewife happens to be much deeper than the rest of the fish prevalent in the region. Legend says that it is the wives of eels that migrated to the region and perhaps, that is how it has got its name.

Alewife is consumed by humans and is often caught while it makes its migration trip upstream.

Conservation is necessary:

The population of Alewives has been on a terrible downturn and it has become an ecological concern. There are several reasons that bear threats to their population:

• Loss of habitat: This is the most crucial factor for their decline in the region. The construction of Dams and other constructions in the region have decreased their access to spawning areas. This has affected their survival and their growth as well.

• Fishing: Extensive fishing in the region has adversely affected their population. More and more people are hunting Alewives and their number is getting wiped out in the region.

• Excessive predation: Excessive predation by larger predators has also reduced their number to quite an extent.

• Habitat degradation: The natural habitat i.e. The Great Lakes Region is getting spoiled with time. Water contamination has led to decrease in their number.

The U.S. government has initiated services such as U.S. National Marine fisheries Service to protect the Alewives from getting extinct in the region.

Category: Wildlife and biology

 A deadly fish virus-Viral Hemorrhagic Virus (VHS) has spread amongst the fishes in the Great Lakes region. This virus has been spreading since 2005 and it has not been quarantined up till now. The virus is not only a threat to the fishes and the fisheries business but to also, the residents of the place and wildlife as well.

Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine has conducted a research in order to prove the outbreak of the ecological hazard. As per the research, 4 out 7 fishes collected from the Great Lakes region are affected with the virus. Further, the scientists have declared that it is the worst viral pathogen that has affected fish, ever. The worst affected lakes are Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Most of the species has been infected by the virus. Some of the worst infected ones are: Muskellunge, freshwater Drum, Goby, Burbot, Yellow Perch and Gizzard Shad. The scientists have also claimed that the virus has spread to regions of Wisconsin as well.

The virus is a threat to fish, the ecological balance, the fishing business, agricultural sector and most importantly, to humans. It needs to be dealt with, with immediate effect.

Category: Wildlife and biology

The ocean is one of earths most important natural resources. It provides a large amount of fish almost 200 billion pounds fish are caught every year all over the world.more than thousand of years the ocean have been fished.fish  have been play a important role in world economy.in developing nation 16% of the total worlds protein provided by the fisheries.the fisheries are to obtain fish for the commercial use,to obtain ornamental or fish oil.Fisheries are usually designed to certain regions like:Tuna fisheries in Eastern pacific,salmon fishery in Alaska,loftiness island cod fishery.for the relative abundance of fish on the continental shelf,fisheries are usually marine & not freshwater.

tuna fish market

Though world total of 86 million tons of fish sere caught in 2000,china fisheries captured one-third of them.other countries producing the most fish were –Peru,japan,USA,Chile,Russia etc.the number of fish caught varies with the years,but the average is about 88million tons per year possibly due to overfishing.

Indian fish market

The amount of fish available in the oceans is an ever-changing number because of natural cause & human development.so its very necessary  to stop over fishing in coming years.a lack of fish greatly impacts on the economy of communities dependent on the resource.

In many countries ,commercial fishing has found more temporarily economical ways of catching fish,including gill nets,purse seines.the number of fish that are this way has reached 27 million tons per year.other human activities like trawling,dredging hamper the marine life.

fishing boat

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Category: Wildlife and biology