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WEDNESDAY, January 8, 2014 VOL. 47, NO. 2 75¢
A mysterious creature in our midst by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
They are the vampires of the sea, roaming our waters at night and drinking blood. They feed off even the most formidable of ocean predators: sharks. “Basically they are tougher than sharks,” said Mary Moser. For scientists like Moser, these blood-sucking eel-like fish called lamprey are fascinating to study. Little is known about the vampireesque creatures despite the fact that they are the oldest fish found in the Columbia River system, appearing in the fossil record 450 million years ago. When Moser speaks at elementary schools about lamprey, she usually says, “Imagine back when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, lamprey fed on dinosaurs.” She describes the fish as super primitive, living on the planet way before the dinosaurs. Viewing lamprey today is like looking back into history, watching the past and the present collide. Moser is a fisheries biologist with the NOAA Fisheries and Confederated Tribes Umatilla
Ralph Lampman/ Brian Jenkins photo
Above: Adult lamprey spawning in the South Fork Coquille River. At right: The formidable mouth of a lamprey. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo Indian Reservation. She has studied lampreys for decades. Once lampreys were abundant along the West Coast of the United States. The fish, which looks like a creature from a sci-fi flick, has smooth and slimy skin and numerous teeth appearing in a circular swirl adapted for clinging and sucking. They can reach 30 inches in length and weigh over a pound. Making these terrifyinglooking fish appear even more
insidious is their feeding practice. They make holes in the sides of their prey and feed on blood and body fluids for hours, days or even weeks. Large fish can survive a lamprey feeding with just a circular scar left behind. “I think they’re cute, but other people hate them,” Moser said. She understands that the fact that they drink blood may make them a hard sell with certain crowds. She explained to the
Sounder that unlike other parasites that destroy their hosts, lamprey often just “sip a little blood.” The fact that they are parasites has been harmful to their image, added Moser. For instance, in the Great Lakes region sea lamprey were introduced to the waters and wreaked havoc on the ecosystem because they were not native. Sea
Controversial Christmas Eve traffic stop Friday Harbor Deputy pulls over trailer with holiday carolers and alleged verbal altercation ensues by SCOTT RASMUSSEN Journal editor
San Juan County’s top law enforcement official issued a statement Tuesday defending his officers and department in the wake of a controversial traffic stop in downtown Friday Harbor on Christmas Eve. On that night, a San Juan Island man was pulled over near the ferry landing parking lot shortly before 6 p.m. while driving a trailer decorated with Christmas lights and lined with hay bales, and which carried more than a dozen holiday carolers, including several children. The ensuing verbal exchange between the driver and San Juan County Deputy Felix Menjivar who pulled him over quickly became
heated and, according to several witnesses, that dispute nearly escalated into an altercation. Witnesses say that at one point the deputy lunged at the driver, but was restrained by a second officer who arrived at the scene shortly after the trailer was pulled over. The party of revelers were all ordered to stand against the wall of a nearby convenience store while the deputies conducted their investigation, according to one witness. To read a letter to the editor from the deputy involved in this incident, see page 4. San Juan County Sheriff Rob Nou said the driver was stopped for allowing people to ride on a trailer and for operating a vehicle without signal lights, taillights and without brake lights. He acknowledged that the traffic stop
“unfortunately” erupted into a confrontation between the deputy and driver. “As your law enforcement officers, we have a fundamental duty to protect life and property,” Nou said. “We also have a duty to enforce the law. This includes the enforcement of traffic laws. This was a traffic stop that needed to happen – not to dampen the Christmas spirit, but to try to prevent a Christmas tragedy.” No traffic tickets were issued and the man was allowed to drive the trailer home, under police escort, Nou said. Still, it’s not the first time this year that the Sheriff ’s department has become the target of
SEE TRAFFIC, PAGE 5
lamprey virtually exterminated lake trout in some of the lakes. Unlike sea lamprey, Pacific lamprey are native to the Puget Sound and beyond and may have a positive effect on our ecosystems. The current distribution of the Pacific lamprey in Western
SEE LAMPREY, PAGE 6
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