Sea lamprey captor on fish discovery experience: ‘Definitely not an eel’

Earlier in the week News 12 reported on the person who caught the scary-looking sea lamprey, and that person is now speaking out about the experience.

News 12 Staff

Aug 27, 2022, 12:21 AM

Updated 829 days ago

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Earlier in the week News 12 reported on the person who caught the scary-looking sea lamprey, and that person is now speaking out about the experience.
The mysterious animal is a sea lamprey and a fish found in the ocean but migrates to freshwater to reproduce.
The teeth make them look dangerous, but they are harmless to people and use them to latch onto bigger fish to feed.
They are rarely found in the Hudson River, so it was a surprise to Ben Harris who caught the animal at the agency's Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg in Dutchess County.
"We immediately thought it was just an adult or close to an adult American eel until we opened up the cast net and saw that it was definitely not an eel," said Ben Harris.
The sea lamprey is not an invasive species to the area where it was found and was released back into the river the day after it was caught.