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 | The Comeback Kid |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Razorback Sucker |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Xyrauchen texanus |
| Image of Fish |  |
| Image Caption and Credit | Adult Razorback Sucker captured during USFWS monitoring efforts. Photo Credit: USFWS |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | One of the largest suckers in North America, the Razorback Sucker can grow to 3 feet and live for 40+ years. When listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, dam construction and the introduction of nonnative sportsfish had ceased recruitment of Razorback Sucker, causing a rapid population decline. Since then, stocking and reintroduction programs have allowed the species to persist despite the odds, with populations expanding throughout the Green, San Juan, and Colorado River basins. In the San Juan River, sightings of record numbers of age-0 Razorback Sucker in 2018 and age-1 Razorback Sucker in spring of 2019 have provided the first consistent signs of recruitment on a large scale. Thanks to the conservation actions of partnership programs such as the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program, a proposal to down-list the species to threatened has been recommended, bringing it one step closer to recovery. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | http://www.coloradoriverrecovery.org/ |
| Your Name | Cheyenne Owens |