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 | Flying towards recovery! |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Humpback Chub |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Gila cypha |
| Image Caption and Credit | National Park Servce photo |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | The Humpback Chub inhabits canyon-bound reaches of the Colorado River - it is found in no other river basin on Earth. This federally endangered species lives for 35 or more years, and easily navigates some of the largest whitewater rapids in the Grand Canyon. The species has recently increased its range in Grand Canyon following years of monitoring, research, and conservation actions implemented cooperatively by multiple management agencies and partners. This follows decades of dam-building, invasions and introductions of nonnative fish species and parasites, and water withdrawals - all factors that led to its endangered status. New populations of Humpback Chub have been established through translocations, via helicopter transport to remote sites in the bottom of Grand Canyon. As the species appears to sustain itself in one of the seven wonders of the world, a proposal to down-list the species to threatened has been recommended. |
| Your Name | Brian Healy |