Alan Jan Swateks age 14., of Port Washington,

 Will you tell me about the lampreys in the Great Lakes?

These little monsters spoil the fishing fun in and around the Great. Lakes, They are parasite‑fish and destroy thousands of trout, suckers and other fisherman's favorites every year, Actually they have no business in these waters at a11. For countless ages their ancestors have been making their way up the stream and rivers from the Atlantic Ocean. They came into fresh water to lay their broods of eggs, Mr, and Mrs, Lamprey would dig m shallow hole in the floor of a stream or lake, Mama. would lay some 21,00„000 eggs and then both parents would oblige us by dying

The brood of youngsters would in time: hatch into larvae. Those that were not eaten, by hungry fish spent about three years of childhood in the fresh waters. The little one's were not parasites. They spend their time= grubbing for bits of algae and dead meat in the mud, These junior lampreys do no harm at all to the fisherman's fish, In fact they are beneficial, They act as garbage men and general cleaner uppers keeping the fresh water fresher.

Full grown, the little helpers become little monsters.' You might mistake them for eels„ but eels are far superior creatures. They make their omm way in the world. giving and taking and finding their own food. Not so the lampreys. They fix their round sucker mouths onto passing fish. They suck out: and feed on the blood and body fluids of their living victims. The horrible; story is repeated again and again. When a victim is dry, the lamprey unhooks itself and seeks more prey, You can sometimes see hundreds of their dead, dried outs victims on the beaches of the lakes.

In times past, the full grown lampreys made their way back to the seas from which their parents came. There they preyed upon the fish of ocean waters. Fresh water fishermen knew little or nothing about them. For they returned to fresh waters only to lay their eggs and perish. In recent years', however. the wretched creatures have changed their life habits. They have  decided to live out their entire life cycle in the fresh waters of the Great Lakes area.

There they find life easy and to their liking, The youngsters have few enemies and grow up in countless numbers.  True the parents perish when the eggs are layed, But they leave behind thousands of offspring who will grow up to prey upon the fish. Some people think that these sea‑water turned fresh‑water lampreys got into the Great Lakes by way of the Welland Canal, In any case, they seem to have no intention of giving up their new life.

There was a time when lampreys were considered a great table delicacy.  Their meat is certainly good to eat. This might give us an idea for dealing with the problem, perhaps the fisherman should go after the lampreys instead of the trout. If enough of them were caught and cooked, the lamprey population would certainly decrease. It may be possible to stop new generations of lampreys from entering some of the lakes, We know the time of year they go up stream and the routes they take.  Perhaps we could catch these ambitious parents with nets over the narrow water channels.