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 TitleYellowstone Cutthroat Trout: icon of the world's first national park
Common Name of FishYellowstone Cutthroat Trout
Scientific Name of FishOncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri
Image of FishImage of Fish
Image Caption and CreditCredit: Kevin Meyer
Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting

Perhaps the best-known of all Cutthroat Trout subspecies, the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout is an icon of Yellowstone National Park, the world's first national park. Known for their willingness to take dry flies, the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout is revered by anglers and conservationists alike. The subspecies is native to both sides of the continental divide in and around Yellowstone National Park; in the Columbia River basin, the subspecies is native to the Snake River basin downstream to Shoshone Falls, whereas in the Missouri River basin, it is native to the Yellowstone River downstream to the Tongue River. The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on their return trip in 1806. While Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, like most native aquatic fauna in North America, face many threats to their long-term persistence, their current distribution and abundance is robust relative to most other Cutthroat Trout subspecies.

Your NameKevin Meyer