New Jersey Alien-like creature - Photo -

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According to the DEC, sea lampreys are eel-like jaw-less and boneless parasites, boasting mouths full of rasping teeth and a file-like tongue.

Juveniles latch onto other fish and drain them of bodily fluids.

Most often, the prey, or host fish, dies as a result of either blood loss or infection.

Sea lampreys spend their egg and larval stages in fresh water. Once their bodies form and they become parasitic, they move out to sea to live off of a host fish.

In the Northeast, lampreys prey on important game fish such as pike, walleye, sturgeon and turbot.

Therefore, in this instance, perhaps it's good that the fisherman did not choose to practice catch-and-release. Control efforts are underway throughout the Great Lakes basin and Northeast.

"Because of the economic importance and profound effects of the sea lamprey on fish communities, its life history has been studied intensely," states a U.S. Fish and Wildlife document on sea lampreys. "In the Bight, sea lampreys ascend to coastal streams in Long Island, New York, the New Jersey shore, and the Hudson River."