Certain of these iises have been tentatively explored and 

 the results are hereivith siunmaidzed and discussed. 



Preliminary experiments indicated that spaTrning run sea 

 lampreys vfere quite unpalatable. In 19hl , 12 fresh sea lampreys 

 taken from the Carp Creek weir were snoked by a Mr. anil Plath 

 of Rogers City., Mchigan. Mr, Plath lias smoked meat and fish 

 commercially for 35 years and was particularly interested in 

 determining if the lampreys woi;ld mal<:e a saleable smoked product. 

 The results were discouraging. The smoked lamprey flesh was 

 stre.aked with black from the original blue discoloration of the 

 flesh (accumulated waste products )j its appearance fras unappetiz- 

 ing and the texture of the flesh was soft or "mushy". The most 

 unfortunate characteristic, however, was an acrid^ unpleasant 

 odor, characteristic of the lampreys but unlike the usual "fishy" 

 smell of other fishes, which the flesh gave off. This alone in- 

 hibited any enjoyment of the actual taste of the flesh itself. 



I have prepared and cooked fillets from fresh specimens on 

 two occasions. These preparations likeivise displayed unpleasant 

 discolorations of the flesh after cookings its texture ivas some- 

 what soft. The taste of the flesh was not exceptional; its 

 enjoyment was obliterated by the indefinable, acrid odor of a 

 decajd.ng lamprey which was present even in the cooked material. 



Even if a cooking technique were developed which would allaj'' 

 the aforementioned odor, I believe that it ivould be extremely 

 difficult to market fresh lampreys either in the round or drawn. 

 Over a period of two years, the reactions of numerous laymen to 

 the appearance of fresh specimens were noted. The slimy skin, 

 the snake-like appearance, and the ugly mouth and head brought 

 forth expressions from outri^t disgust to a complete disinterest 

 in experimenting with them as food. I judge from this that if 

 the lampreys are ever marketable as food they will only be so 

 a.s fresh or canned fillets. 



Reduction of sea lampreys for oil or associated medicinal 

 products appears equally unpromising. In 19^75 ^^ "the request 

 of Dr, Jolin Van Oosten, six specimens were sent to the Fishery 

 Technological Laboratory, Seattle, Washington (U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service), for analysis of oil content and the vitamin 

 A potency of that oil. The results of these tests are summar- 

 ized in the follovfing paragraph extracted from a letter from that 

 laboratory to Dr, Van Oosten :2/ 



"With Vitamin A selling at about 11 cents per million units, 

 it is evident that it would not be feasible to remove the livers 

 or egg? from the lamprey as the cost of the labor involved would 



^Data quoted with permission of Dr, John Van Oosten, In Charge, 

 Great Lakes Fishery Investigations, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



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