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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Brian Stout, Former President Trump, Henry Heimuller, Joe Biden, Pat Robertson, Ted Cruz, Joe Biden’s dogs, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
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Lamprey Eels
Lampreys belong to an ancient group of fish called Agnatha that evolved 450 million years ago, predating both dinosaurs and trees.
Lamprey eels live in the cold waters of freshwater and marine ecosystems in the North Pacific, from California to Alaska, and across the Bering Sea to Russia and Japan. It dines on the blood and body fluids of other fish, including Pacific salmon, flatfish, rockfish and Pacific hake. Why these creatures are so cool, Lampreys belong to a group of ancient, jawless fish that evolved over 450 million years ago during the Ordovician period (485 million to 444 million years ago). There are approximately 40 living species of lampreys dotted across the world. These eel-like creatures were scurrying up and down streams long before dinosaurs and even trees existed, and have survived at least four mass extinctions. Pacific lampreys are boneless fish, and their skeletons are made entirely of cartilage. Instead of a jaw, they have a sucker mouth rimmed with teeth, which they use to latch onto prey and extract blood and body fluids with their round sucking mouth. Females lay up to 200,000 eggs in nests that they gestate in fresh water for three to four weeks. Once the larvae hatch, they burrow into the sediment and remain buried for up to a decade., They are toothless and have only rudimentary eyes. The ammocoetes filter feed on microorganisms from five to seven years, after which they undergo a radical metamorphosis into adult lamprey. This metamorphosis includes rearranging the internal organs and the development of eyes and their characteristic toothed sucking disc. The adult lamprey then migrate to the ocean where they spend one to two years feeding before returning to fresh water to spawn . These creatures grow up to 33 inches long, and can travel hundreds of miles inland in search of the perfect spawning and rearing spot. Pacific lampreys are very necessary prey for many species of birds, mammals and fish due to their extremely fatty flesh, which has three to five times as many calories by weight as salmon. They are an important part of the marine ecosystem. Native Americans depended on lampreys for their survival. The Pacific lamprey provided an important source of food for the tribes of the Columbia River Basin, who prized them for their rich, fatty meat. They were served alongside salmon at tribal feasts and celebrations. They would collect the fat that would drip off an eel as it was cooking over a fire. And would store the fat in a small bottle and use it for oil in lamps and for medicines. The eels would be caught in large numbers, smoked and dried to provide food during the winter. The lamprey is having trouble surviving, they depend on clean water and silt. And we all know clean water and silt has been polluted with chemicals from industries and farming. Similar to salmon, the lamprey lifecycle requires relatively pristine freshwater rivers and streams for spawning and rearing, mainstem river conditions conducive to migration to the ocean and back, and favorable ocean conditions. All three of these requirements have been degraded or impacted by human activity in the past 80 years, threatening the existence of this ancient creature. Counts of 400,000 adults were recorded at Bonneville Dam 60 years ago. Current counts are less than 20,000. The lamprey returning to Idaho face an ever more dire situation. In the past eight years, the number of lamprey passing Lower Granite Dam—the last mainstem dam before reaching Idaho—has been in the double digits. The few places that lamprey remained abundant became even more precious—most notably at Willamette Falls at Oregon City, Oregon The Native American tribes have in the past few years have been the species’ primary advocates, calling for the protection and restoration of the Pacific lamprey. To address the lamprey’s decline, the Columbia River treaty tribes created the Tribal Pacific Lamprey Restoration Plan, the most comprehensive restoration plan for Pacific lamprey that the Columbia Basin has seen. Lamprey research, restoration projects, hydropower facility modifications, and policy creation are being performed by the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce tribes and their collective body the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Lampreys are just one more species that have been effected by humans and are fighting for survival. The Columbia River’s resources has been abused and depleted by the greed of man. I hope the Tribes can save and increase the numbers of this very important species.
Tammy
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