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 | The Hogchoker: Humble Hearty Hale fellow or Horrendous Harasser of Hogs? |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Hogchoker |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Trinectes maculatus |
| Image of Fish | |
| Image Caption and Credit | Robert Aguilar |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | If there ever was a fish that embodies the American spirit and character, it is the noble Hogchoker. The personification of what we all hold dear, it is resilient, tenacious, frugal, and highly derived. So much so that Ulysses S. Grant - President at the time of the founding of the American Fisheries Society - kept a taxidermied Hogchoker in his executive office as a personal totem. The Hogchoker can be found throughout most of the eastern US and in the Gulf of Mexico, from the open ocean to hundreds of miles upriver. Often abundant, but never common. It is said that early settlers were awed by their sheer numbers and tenacity, so in fear they feed them to their hogs. Undeterred, they did not placidly accept their fate lying flat. No, they showed us all what America's fish was made of - grit and ctenoid scales. Not many people are aware that the original Gadsden Flag did not possess a rattlesnake in fear of being tread upon, but a defiant Hogchoker proclaiming "CHOKE ON THIS." |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogchoker |
| Your Name | Robert Aguilar |
