America attempts to kill fishes

Wildlife conservationists are working to draw pesticides into the water in a stream near Lake Michigan (USA), to kill 'vampires' that suck blood from other fish.

Rocky grouper , also known as 'vampire' has a length of 60cm to 90cm. They look like eels, but their behavior is like leeches. With a round mouth like a disc and sharp teeth, rocky grouper clings to other fish and sucks their blood and body fluids, causing them to weaken or die.

Two 'vampire' fish sucked a salmon blood.

Although originating from the Atlantic Ocean, 'vampires' can live in freshwater areas and have migrated to the Great Lake area on the border between the US and Canada, through channels used for transport. download waterways.

In the late 1940s, rocky grouper invaded the slaughter of salmon, white meat fish and other commercial fish in Lake Michigan. The fight to destroy rocky grouper has consumed the US more than 400 million USD during the past 5 decades.

The number of rocky grouper species has decreased by about 90% since the 1950s when studies found ways to destroy them without affecting other organisms.

Close up of the mouth of a stone grouper.

This week, the US Wildlife and Wildlife Protection Service will use a pesticide that drops into Mitchell Creek stream into Lake Michigan to destroy the 'vampire' larvae that feed on blood.

'Grouper larvae in rivers are the easiest to kill,' said Alex Gonzalez, a US marine and wildlife biologist. 'For us, the elimination of adult rocky grouper is completely impossible.'