Abstract:
The cultural and ecological values of Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) have not
been understood by Euro-Americans and thus their great decline has almost gone
unnoticed except by Native Americans, who elevated the issue and initiated research to
restore its populations, at least in the Columbia Basin. They regard Pacific lamprey as a
highly valued resource and as a result ksuyas (lamprey) has become one of their cultural
icons. Ksuyas are harvested to this day as a subsistence food by various tribes along the
Pacific coast and are highly regarded for their cultural value. Interestingly, our review
suggests that the Pacific lamprey plays an important role in the food web, may have
acted as a buffer for salmon from predators, and may have been an important source
of marine nutrients to oligotrophic watersheds. This is very different from the Euro-
American perception that lampreys are pests. We suggest that cultural biases affected
management policies.
