150 Fishes to Celebrate 150 Years
This list is still in progress and being added to weekly. Check back again soon!
150 Fishes to Celebrate 150 Years
In 2020, the American Fisheries Society will celebrate its 150th Anniversary. As part of the celebration, the Society will be calling attention to 150 fishes. We solicited nominations of fishes for the list by the Society’s membership.
The 150 Fishes list is a celebration of the biodiversity of freshwater and marine fishes of North America. These fishes will help tell the story of fish and fisheries of the continent. They may illustrate unique life histories, beauty, conservation issues, and challenges of managing and conserving these animals and their habitats. These fishes represent our native biodiversity, but also illustrates how invasives and our own human nature have had impacts on our aquatic resources. Hence, this list will primarily focus on native species but may include non-natives when they tell a compelling fisheries story. From the stories of these fishes, the Society and the public can learn to better appreciate these amazing natural resources and be challenged to ensure that future generations will be able to experience these fishes in their native settings.
Nomination Process
Fish nominations are now closed.
Circulation Process
The 150 Fishes list will reside at the 150th Anniversary Website, information about individual fish from the list will be circulated through various social media platforms throughout the year.
This list is meant to be a fun for members and informative for the public. It is unlikely we will be able to include all nominations. We acknowledge that every fish has a story. There may be opportunities to discuss all the nominated fishes in the future.
FULL LIST OF NOMINATED FISH
| Catchy Title | Don't call me Dolly |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Bull Trout |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Salvelinus confluentus |
| Image of Fish |  |
| Image Caption and Credit | 1949 word record Bull Trout, Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) belong to the char sub-group of salmonids and are native to northwestern North America. They can grow to large sizes, with the world record Bull Trout weighing in at 32 lbs (caught in 1949 in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho). Initially, Bull Trout and Dolly Varden (S. malma) were considered to be the same species. However, Bull Trout were recognized as a distinct species from anadromous Dolly Varden in the 1970s. Bull Trout display migratory and resident life histories and require very cold and clean water. Because of their specific habitat requirements, Bull Trout are sensitive to habitat degradation. In addition to being impacted by habitat degradation, Bull Trout can also be threatened by competition with and predation from non-native species. Following declines across their range in the United States, Bull Trout were listed as threated under the Endangered Species Act in 1998. |
| Your Name | Idaho Chapter AFS Native Fish Committee |