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 | Way down upon the Suwannee River swims the unique and colorful Suwannee Bass |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Suwannee Bass |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Micropterus notius |
| Image of Fish | |
| Image Caption and Credit | Tim Bonvechio holding Suwannee Bass from the Withlacoochee River |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | The Suwannee Bass has one of the smallest ranges and geographic distributions among the black basses, encompassing roughly 8,500 km2 (Bonvechio et al. 2010). First described in the Ichtucknee River, Florida by Bailey and Hubbs in 1949. Since then, they have been found in several other Gulf coast rivers including the Santa Fe, St. Marks, Suwannee, Wacissa, and Wakulla Rivers of Florida, as well as the Alapaha, Ochlockonee, and Withlacoocchee Rivers of Florida and Georgia. These small but robust, deep-bodied, "football" of a black bass, rarely exceed 425 mm TL (Bonvechio et al. 2005, 2010) and are often found in the most pristine spring-fed rivers where water flows over rocky shoals and limestone substrates (Hurst et. al 1975; Gilbert and Burgess 1980). It's most distinguishing characteristic is the turquoise blue coloration that can be found on the cheeks, breast, and sometimes ventral parts of mature fish that tends to be more profound around the spawn. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://georgiawildlife.blog/2018/04/07/how-to-hook-a-bass-slam-suwanee-bass/ |
| Your Name | Tim Bonvechio |
