Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 51 



repeatedly along the streams/" but their intestines atrophy, they are attacked by fungus, 

 and they become so debilitated that recovery seems unlikely. The larval stage is believed 

 to last from three to five years," during which time the larvae live in burrows or under 

 stones in the mud of the parent stream. Having reached a length of from four to six inches 

 they undergo transformation to the adult form, an event occupying about two months 

 (August to September in New England). They then descend the stream to the sea and are 

 described as reaching salt water in late autumn or early winter in America. The length 

 of life in the sea is not known, but large ones, not yet mature, are to be found there the year 

 round. 



Numerical Abundance. It is certain that along the American coast as a whole the Sea 

 Lamprey is now far less numerous than it was, a decrease probably resulting from the 

 construction of dams that it cannot pass in many of the streams that it enters to spawn. 

 This decrease has been most severe in the larger rivers of New England. In the Merrimack 

 River, for example, several cartloads were caught daily for a considerable period in 1847 

 after the dam was completed there. But so few, if any, now succeed in passing the dams 

 at Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts, notwithstanding the fact that fishways are now 

 maintained, that a recent survey yielded no evidence that any now breed in the upper 

 stretches of the river." Similarly, there is a recorded catch of 3,800 in one night at Hadley 

 Falls in the Connecticut River in 1840, but by 1866 Lampreys had become nearly extinct 

 in the Connecticut's upper reaches, although still plentiful in its lower part. However, 

 Lampreys still continue numerous where suitable spawning areas are accessible to them. 

 For example, we may quote catches of 18, 15, and 119 specimens at three localities on the 

 Petitcodiac River system, Nova Scotia, during salmon investigations in May and June, 

 1942 and 1943}" of over 100 on several occasions recently in the lower Exeter River, 

 New Hampshire;''* and of 98 specimens collected in Swimming River, tributary to Sandy 

 Hook Bay, New York." While Lampreys, like other anadromous fishes, may seem plen- 

 tiful when condensed within the narrow bounds of a river's banks, their numbers as a whole 

 are in no wise comparable with those of the more common salt water fishes. 



Relation to Man. In Europe, during the Middle Ages, Sea Lampreys were consid- 

 ered a great delicacy, and formerly, when they were more plentiful, large numbers were 

 taken in the rivers of New England for human food, particularly in the Merrimack and 

 Connecticut Rivers.'" Many were also sold in fish markets in New Jersey as late as the 



70. For example, Parley (Rep. Fish. Bay of Fundy, 1851: 156) saw dead Lampreys for miles along the Nerepis 

 River, New Brunswick, in August, 1840; and he reports a similar situation in the Miramichi (Cat. Fish. N. 

 Brunsw. and Nova Scotia, 1852). 



71. We have no first-hand information to contribute on this point. 



72. Bailey (Biol. Surv. Merrimack Watershed, New Hampshire Fish Game Dep., 1938: 155). For an account of 

 early attempts to restore the Lamprey and other anadromous fish in the Merrimack, see Marston (Biol. Surv. 

 Merrimack Watershed, New Hampshire Fish Game Dep., 1938: 193). 



73. Personal communication from A. G. Huntsman. 



74. Collected by R. Witter for the use of the Biological Lab., Harvard College. 



75. Nichols and Breder, Zoologica, 9, 1927: 10. 



76. For an account of the Lamprey fishery in New England during the first half of the 19th century, see Goode 

 (Fish. Fish. Industr. U.S., Sect, i, 1884: 680). 



