The congresswoman in a blue suit gripped the slimy lamprey with both hands and held it out for the kids to feel the tiny teeth latch on.
“It feels so weird,” said the first volunteer, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten’s own son.
The demonstration was harmless. The lamprey, sometimes called vampire fish, won’t feed on warm-blooded humans. But when they attach to a fish, tiny sharp teeth come out and the lamprey sucks out the blood of its victim. The fish is left wounded or worse. One lamprey can kill up to 40 pounds worth of Great Lakes fish in a year, making them one of the most threatening invasive species in the lakes.
And it’s why Scholten — a Democratic representative whose district includes Grand Rapids — was there, to announce a new $2.1 million federal grant that will help design a new barrier to keep sea lamprey from traveling up Michigan’s longest river, and spawning in the thousands of miles of upstream tributaries.
“The barrier that this money will go to help design and construct is incredibly cost effective,” Scholten said, “paying for itself in just a little over a decade.”
Protecting the river from lamprey means protecting native fish, and the lucrative sport fishing industry that depends on them, she said.
Sea lamprey are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but they made their way into the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence Seaway. They spawn in rivers, but they’ve been blocked from traveling up the Grand River past Grand Rapids because of the Sixth Street Dam. Fish such as salmon and trout can pass the dam because of a fish ladder.
But with a multi-year effort underway to reshape the river downtown and restore the rapids that gave the city its name, the Sixth Street dam could be lowered to increase water flow. Without any new barriers, that would open up the rest of the river to lamprey.
“They’re horror-movie creatures,” Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand said of the lamprey. “They’re really, really scary.”
He said the city is developing new attractions along and in the river to make it more of a destination. But he said that can’t come at the expense of the health of the native species that live in the river.
Building a barrier won’t be easy. Anything constructed will have to still allow other fish to swim freely past. The $2.1 million federal grant will go to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to study designs, and start construction.
The barrier is expected to go in about a mile upstream from the Sixth Street Dam, well beyond downtown and the new attractions being planned by city leaders.
Monday, city manager Mark Washington said plans are on track to begin work on the lower part of the river next summer.
