|
Click the image above to open the press
release as a seperate document (includes photo).
Photo: Courtesy NBC Universal
|
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2013
Contact: Marc Gaden
734-669-3012
GREAT
LAKES SEA LAMPREYS INVADE
THE
TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO
ANN ARBOR, MI—Sea
lampreys, the Great Lakes’ most notorious noxious pest, invaded the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday as part of a segment featuring
Jeremy Wade, the star of Animal Planet’s hit show River
Monsters. Mr. Wade (left in photo), who appeared on the Tonight
Show to talk about the large, strange, and sometimes dangerous fish
he encounters, stuck a sea lamprey on Mr. Leno, giving the late-night
host an idea of what a trout or salmon in the Great Lakes
experiences.
Officials with the
Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the U.S. Geological Survey worked
with NBC and Animal Planet producers and directors to highlight the
destructive nature of sea lampreys and to stress the successful
control program in the Great Lakes.
The
sea lamprey segment is available on the Tonight Show’s Website at:
Or
on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s multimedia page
at:
Sea lampreys entered
the Great Lakes in the early 20th century through shipping
canals. They attach to fish with a suction-cup mouth ringed
with sharp teeth. A file-like tongue rasps through a fish’s
scales and skin and feeds on the fish’s blood and body fluids.
The average lamprey will destroy about 40 pounds of Great Lakes
fish. Being invasive to the Great Lakes, sea lampreys have no
natural predators to keep them in check. The Great Lakes
Fishery Commission, in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada,
manages the sea lamprey research and control programs. Sea
lamprey control is successful, with lamprey populations reduced by
90% from their historical abundance. The control program
protects the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery.
--30--
|
No comments:
Post a Comment