Lamprey Attacks In The Baltic Sea!

Two swimmers in the Baltic Sea sought medical treatment over the weekend after being bitten by sea lampreys, an uncomfortable incident that has the state fisheries department aflutter about the return of the parasitic marine animal.

The two people were bitten near the town of Damp, 31 miles north of Kiel on the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein. A lamprey had to be removed after it attached itself to the leg of a 14-year-old boy. The other lamprey victim told German tabloid Bild that he was swimming and bitten by “a metre-long snake-like creature.”

Martin Franz, manager of the Schleswig-Holstein fisheries department said the culprit was most likely a sea lamprey, which can grow to be as long as 2.5 ft, trying to catch a ride.

“They aren’t very good swimmers so they latch on to a passing fish – or in this case a person – to get around,” said Franz.

The sea lamprey had been considered to be increasingly rare in the southern Baltic Sea. Franz sees the two incidents as a positive sign for the population.

“Not so long ago, the lamprey was a delicacy here and they were completely overfished. This is actually a good sign and means the population is improving.”

[source]