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 | Mini-monster of the deep |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Deepwater sculpin |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Myoxocephalus thompsonii |
| Image of Fish | |
| Image Caption and Credit | Deepwater Sculpin, Jeff Eibler, MNDNR |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | In Minnesota, the deepwater sculpin is found in our deepest oligotrophic lakes of the Canadian Shield (Lake Superior included). Otherwise, it is mainly a resident of Canada. It is a fish we rarely see in our typical DNR Fisheries sampling due to its small size (generally less than 6 inches) and the deep depth it prefers, but we have been setting light traps in many of our lake trout lakes in the past few years to document their presence. As with many coldwater fish, its presence is an indicator of cold, well oxygenated, and clean water habitat. Lake trout and burbot are their main predators. One cool fact learned when looking for more information on the species: "This species is considered a relict of the last Ice Age and was once found in Arctic marine or brackish waters, but was forced to retreat southwards as the ice advanced. " |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/Z07-125 |
| Your Name | Edie Evarts Evarts |
