A parasitic “vampire fish” that is rarely seen by humans has been detected in a Virginia river, and while it is invasive, experts say it’s a good sign.
An Alexandria local pulled what’s called a sea lamprey from the Potomac River with his bare hands and tossed the nearly two-foot-long eel-like creature onto dry land.
The fish gets its nickname from its suction-cup-shaped mouth and sharp teeth, which it uses to ensnare its victim and feed on its bodily fluids, sometimes feasting for weeks.
The Potomac River has long been polluted and government agencies have taken steps to clean it up, so the appearance of the lamprey is a sign that the pollution is finally going away because the creature is sensitive to toxins.
An Alexandria local pulled what’s called a sea lamprey from the Potomac River with his bare hands and tossed the nearly two-foot-long eel-like creature onto dry land.
Sea lampreys are an invasive species native to the Atlantic Ocean but invaded the Great Lakes in the 19th century through man-made canals and shipping docks.
The Potomac’s population began to grow in 2002, which experts considered a positive sign for the river.
“The resurgence of sea lamprey is another indication that water quality is improving,” said Jim Cummins, then associate director of the Living Resources Section. Potomac Bay Reporter At the time.
‘Sea lamprey is quite sensitive to pollution.’
The 23-year-old posted a video on Instagram of him catching the vampire fish, claiming it was “the first sea lamprey caught in the Potomac River.”
The fish migrate from the Chesapeake Bay to the freshwater river each year to lay their eggs, suggesting this is not the first sighting.
However, he seemed shocked and kept saying, “Oh my God,” as the person filming him challenged him to put the lamprey on his arm.
“I’m not going to do that,” he said, but called his capture “crazy.”
People responded to the videosaying that it is an invasive species and should be eliminated.
“They eat other fish and infect them with parasites with a sting, so they eventually die. They are invasive. Look at the damage they caused in Michigan and what they had to do to fix it,” one person commented.
A single female can produce up to 100,000 eggs, and as the population increased in the Great Lakes during the 1940s and 1950s, they nearly decimated lake trout and whitefish, prompting efforts to eliminate them.
Another person simply said, “Kill him.”
The river received a “B” grade for cleanliness last year, up from a “D” rating in 2011.
Studies are underway to determine whether the river will be clean enough to lift the swimming ban in the next two to three years, according to the Potomac Conservation.
Although social media is calling for the sea lamprey to be killed, its presence is not harmful to the ecosystem.
The Chesapeake Bay Program said that after lamprey reach maturity at four or five years old, they leave freshwater rivers to live out the rest of their lives in the ocean.
The fish gets its nickname from its sucker-like mouth and sharp teeth, which it uses to catch its victim and feed on its bodily fluids, sometimes feasting for weeks.
The lamprey has the appearance of an eel, with an elongated body measuring between 30 and 55 centimetres long and brown and yellow skin covered with dark spots. It has a suction-cup-like mouth and sharp teeth to grab onto its victim and feed on its bodily fluids, sometimes for up to three weeks until the fish dies.
Lampreys have been around for millions of years, but have been threatened by habitat loss and chemical treatments called lampricides that kill lamprey larvae and have reduced their population by more than 90 percent.
They have the appearance of an eel, with an elongated body measuring between 12 and 22 inches long and brown and yellow skin covered with dark spots.
These fish can accidentally hook humans who are swimming in the water, and while the bite will not be fatal, it is painful and untreated wounds could lead to infection.
The sea lamprey is native to the area and has existed in the Potomac for years, but it rarely takes fishermen’s bait and the polluted water has so far hidden it from view.
This fish is thought to have once been abundant in the Chesapeake Bay, which empties into the Potomac, but the population has declined in part due to increased sediment, pollution and the blocking of spawning areas by dams.
Since 1989, the Alice Ferguson Foundation has spearheaded the annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup and DC’s Clean Rivers Program has invested $2.6 billion to reduce pollution.