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 | Natives Under Pressure |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Carolina Madtom |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Noturus furiosus |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | The Carolina Madtom is a native ictalurid endemic to the Neuse and Tar River basins of the North Carolina Atlantic Slope. The species is currently proposed for Federal Endangered status by the USFWS. Despite significant effort, very few Carolina Madtoms have been observed in the Neuse River Basin in the past 10 years and observations have declined in some areas of the Tar Basin. The landscape of the Neuse River Basin has undergone some of the highest urban/suburban growth in the US in the last three decades and the non-native Flathead Catfish, a voracious predator of the native fauna, was introduced to both basins. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/fishes/carolina-madtom/ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/05/22/2019-10379/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-threatened-species-status-with-section-4d-rule-for https://cals.ncsu.edu/applied-ecology/news/saving-the-carolina-madtom/ |
| Your Name | Judith Ratcliffe |