SUNY Plattsburgh to Screen Film Exploring Sea Lamprey Threat to Native Fish

SUNY Plattsburgh will host a screening of the award-winning documentary, “The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery,” Monday, May 11 in Room 106 Hudson Hall with doors opening at 5 p.m.

Sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the evening will include a discussion of the film, which will unpack the damages of sea lamprey on fish populations in the Great Lakes and the efforts of scientists, policymakers, and conservationists to find a solution.

According to the commission, sea lampreys are parasitic fish native to the Atlantic Ocean that latch onto other fish with their suction-cup mouths. They then feed on the body fluids by secreting an enzyme that prevents blood from clotting, similar to how a leech feeds off its host. They have remained largely unchanged for more than 340 million years, surviving at least four major extinction events.

The screening of “The Fish Thief” will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Lake Champlain sea lamprey control experts from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lake Champlain Basin Program, and the commission.

For more information on the event, contact Dr. Aude Lochet, adjunct lecturer in biological sciences, at 518-564-2056 or email [email protected] or visit www.lcbp.org/event/the-fish-thief-a-great-lakes-mystery.