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 | A Frostfish by Any Other Name... |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Round whitefish |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Prosopium cylindraceum |
| Image of Fish | |
| Image Caption and Credit | RWF Randall 2019: Juvenile round whitefish; RWF Randall 2017: Adult round whitefish head-on; RWF Randall 2019: Adult round whitefish; photo credits (all): Eileen Randall |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | The round whitefish, also known locally as frostfish or menominee, is a little known but widespread salmonid, closely related to the better known lake whitefish and cisco. Its native range extends from New England across the Great Lakes basin, throughout much of Canada, and westward to northeast Asia. Round whitefish live in lakes, rivers, and even brackish Artic waters. In the southern portion of its range, it occurs in lakes but farther north more commonly inhabits rivers and even brackish Arctic waters. The round whitefish is rarely taken by anglers because of its very small mouth and tendency to feed along the bottom. It is also rarely seen by fisheries scientists in the U.S. lower 48 states due to its limited distribution and preference for deep, cold water. Even when round whitefish move into shallow water to spawn, observing this species is difficult due to its habit of spawning in late fall at about the time of ice formation, hence the moniker “frostfish." |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/26013.html https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/rndwhitefish.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263541278_Fish_life_history_and_habitat_use_in_the_Northwest_Territories_round_whitefish_Prosopium_cylindraceum |
| Your Name | Eileen Randall |
