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 | Absolute Honker |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Arapaima |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Arapaima Gigas |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | My dude is an obligate air breather and among the largest of all freshwater fish species, which is where it earns the title of Absolute Honker. The lad is large, commonly reaching 7-10 feet in length, and reportedly being able to grow up to 15 feet long in some cases. It's in the order Osteoglossiformes which means bony tongued fish and they've remained relatively unchanged for millions of years. Plus it looks super cool. Conservation for this species is important, too! It has been overfished many times over the years, and has a dwindling habitat. Additionally it's raised as a food fish in the Amazon, and we should take care to make sure it's population remains stable or ideally increases. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapaima |
| Your Name | Geoff Frazier |