150 Fish Nominations

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 are 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 150^th 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

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Catchy Title	The resilient silver salmon
Common Name of Fish	Coho salmon
Scientific Name of Fish	Oncorhynchus kisutch
Image of Fish
Image Caption and Credit	photo by Lance Campbell, courtesy of wildsteelheaders.org
Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting	The coho salmon has repeatedly shown its ability to survive and prosper in habitats that seem only marginal for Pacific salmon. They return to restored habitat and readily re-establish themselves. Given half a chance, they rebuild their numbers by natural reproduction despite continuing challenges. With salmon and steelhead being pushed out of much of the upper and middle Columbia Basin, they are the species which is clearly succeeding in reintroductions in places like the Yakima, Methow and Clearwater Rivers. They are a beautiful fish as juveniles and adults. They are a fish we all can admire and one we can hold up as a symbol of the highest objectives of fishery management.
Website or Journal Article for More Information	https://www.critfc.org/fish-and-watersheds/fish-and-habitat-restoration/restoration-successes/clearwater-river-coho/
Your Name	Douglas DeHart