OUTDOORS & REC
B2 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
EELS
Continued from Page B1
Both sexes of Pacifi c
lamprey build a nest in
sandy gravel via body
vibrations and by moving
small rocks with their
mouth. After eggs hatch,
the larvae or ammocoete
burrow into the river
bottom to feed on micro-
scopic algae for 5 to 7
years. During this time, the
juvenile form has an oral
hood, lack teeth, and eyes
are underdeveloped.
Lampreys the size
of a small garter snake
emerge from their burrow
and begin a lengthy, dan-
ger-fraught journey to the
Pacifi c Ocean under the
cover of spring freshets.
Only after they transform
to the young adult stage do
they attach to other fi sh and
suck body fl uid and blood
for nourishment.
Adult Pacifi c lamprey
have no value to sport
anglers (except for use as
sturgeon bait). However,
they are part of the food
web for sea lion, white stur-
geon and fi sh-eating birds.
Similar to Pacifi c salmon,
the spent carcasses of sea-
Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo
An adult lamprey uses its suctorial mouth to attach to river cobble prior to spawning.
going lamprey contribute
ocean-derived nutrients to
tributary streams.
Coincident with hydro-
electric dam development
in the Columbia River,
numbers of adult lampreys
migrating over Bonneville
Dam declined from 350,000
in the 1960s to 22,000 in
1997. A similar pattern of
decline was observed in the
Snake River after comple-
tion of the Hells Canyon
complex and the four lower
Snake River dams in the
1960s. Loss of critical trib-
utary habitat from poor irri-
gation practices, deforesta-
tion, grazing, and treatment
with rotenone to poison
“trash fi sh” added to the
toll. That juvenile lamprey
are poor swimmers and
have a bottom-dwelling
lifestyle make them partic-
ularly vulnerable to intro-
duced bass, walleye, and
channel catfi sh.
Regional Indian tribes
and the U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service lead conserva-
tion eff orts to restore runs
of Pacifi c lamprey popu-
lations. Lampreys dried
in the sun or roasted over
wood coals are consid-
ered a delicacy by tribal
elders. Translocation, or
placing adult lamprey in
Columbia Basin streams
where populations were for-
merly present, has produced
promising results in sev-
eral streams, including the
Umatilla, Yakima, Methow,
Wenatchee, and Clearwater
rivers. In some cases, num-
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022
bers of returning fi sh have
been large enough to sup-
port a modest subsistence
fi shery for tribal members.
The anthropologist
Eugene Hunn wrote how
Sahaptin-speaking peoples
from the mid-Columbia
intercepted a spawning run
of “eels” during a 19th cen-
tury spring root-gathering
excursion up the John Day
River. At large falls such as
Celilo and Kettle, migrating
lampreys were collected off
rocks where they attached
to rest. A tradition of tribal
harvest continues today at
Oregon’s Willamette Falls.
The Wanapum Tribe tells
of an important fi shery near
Pasco, Washington, a loca-
tion referred to as Kosith
or “at the point of land.”
Adult lamprey congregated
there, perhaps confused by
fl ow from three adjacent
rivers, and were caught at
night from canoes by Indian
fi shers who used dip nets
made of hemp. The fl ooded
backwater of McNary Dam
put a stop to that practice.
The Snake River near
Asotin, Washington, was
another traditional har-
vest location for Indian
fi shers. An 1892 report
of the United States Fish
Commission described
the occurrence of this
revered “three-toothed”
lamprey as far upriver as
Lower Salmon Falls. Nez
Perce elders still share sto-
ries of catching “eels”
as young children in the
Clearwater River.
Dark clouds loom over-
head. Behind me, on a
shoreline lined with brush
willow, a redwing black-
bird struggles to balance on
a branch that sways with
each gust of wind. A thun-
derstorm is in the works.
Three lamprey as long
as my arm swim into the
shallow riffl e at my feet
and join the party. One
male grasps a female with
his sucking mouth. Their
bodies twist and intertwine.
Eggs and milt mix their life
energy with the river.
The ancient night eel
has survived against all
odds for thousands of years.
Bearing witness to their
return assures the circle of
life is not broken.
█
Dennis Dauble is a retired fishery
scientist, outdoor writer, presenter
and educator who lives in Richland,
Washington. For more stories about
fish and fishing in area waters, see
DennisDaubleBooks.com.
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by Stella Wilder
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022
YOUR BIRTHDAY by Stella Wilder
Born today, you are a born explorer, a curi-
ous type who is always looking behind doors
and under carpets to see what’s lurking about
out of sight and, usually, out of mind. For you,
however, those kinds of things are of central
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SUNDAY, JUNE 12
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SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022
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that you are also allowing your heart to play a
part. How do you feel today?
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-- but that may not be most beneficial to you.
Take a more conservative approach.
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Something new is almost ready to be
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