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 | Canary in the Cahaba River: Warnings from an endemic, endangered fish. |
|---|---|
| Common Name of Fish | Cahaba Shiner |
| Scientific Name of Fish | Notripis cahabae |
| Image of Fish |  |
| Image Caption and Credit | Outdoor Alabama |
| Description of Why This Fish Is Important/Interesting | The Cahaba Shiner (Notropis cahabae) is an endangered minnow known only from a short section (~76 miles) of the main stem Cahaba River in the Mobile Basin of Alabama. It is a silvery species with olive colors that never expresses breeding colors and is about 2 inches long. The most recent surveys of the Cahaba River indicate that its range may be further restricted to just 15 mile of the river, however, it was not present in samples as recent as 1998. Activities that promote sedimentation are implicated in declines of Cahaba Shiner. Threats by extensive urban development, such as road construction and riparian removal that alter the clear pools with sand and gravel substrate they occur continue to be a threat. This story is not unique to the Cahaba Shiner or the river it inhabits, but is common to other fishes in developing watersheds and should serve as a reminder to conservationists to continue to monitor human activities that can harm the diverse icthyofauna of the region. |
| Website or Journal Article for More Information | Onorato, D; Angus, RA; Marion, KR 2000, Historical changes in the ichthyofaunal assemblages of the upper Cahaba River in Alabama associated with extensive urban development in the watershed Journal of Freshwater Ecology 15: 47-63 |
| Your Name | Garrett Hopper |