By: Dana Sackett, PhD Aquatic environments are frequently the eventual, albeit-it often unintentional, receptacle for pollutants released by human activities.  While the adage ‘it always rolls downhill’ is meant to be facetious, in practice, wastewater effluent discharge, stormwater run-off, and agricultural runoff (including pesticides) do wash downstream into our aquatic ecosystems.  Aquatic organisms are also…

Saving Sandfish: Unless bold conservation action is taken now, scientists studying Sandfish are worried the fish will go extinct in less than 10 years.

Today is the first day of school at universities across the country, and even though some people have successfully adjusted their lives to the rules of our new world, more adjustments seem like a guarantee, which can be a significant source of stress. The point of this article is not to exacerbate anyone’s anxiety but…

The #SundayFishSketch is a hashtag that encourages like-minded individuals to incorporate art and fish into their weekly lives. Not only is it a great community to join for beginning sketchers, but it also acts as reminder to even the most seasoned of artists to continue practicing their craft. Many of the #SundayFishSketch themes are fun…

By: Dana Sackett, PhD Given the unprecedented times we are in and that most with an interest in fish biology also have an interest in ecology and nature, I decided to take some liberties in this week’s The Fisheries Blog article.  So please bear with me while I diverge from our typical fisheries-centered topics and…

Here’s a riddle: What has rivers without water? Forests without trees? Roads without cars? All maps are treasure maps when you’re in pursuit of wild and native sportfish. Many anglers take great satisfaction in leafing through a gazetteer, and tracing their finger over the “blue lines” (rivers and streams) until they reach an access point,…

Guest Author: Jason Schooley, Senior Fisheries Biologist, Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation The largest American Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) reported in the scientific literature is attributed to R. D. Vanderbeck, who took the fish by spear in Lake Okoboji, Iowa, in February 1916 (Nichols 1916). The fish’s length of 7’ 1” and girth of 45.5” were…

The fields of art and the sciences are intimately combined. The detailed illustrations by artists and scientists, that back up years worth of scientific research describing new species, anatomy and behavior, complex processes, and new technologies, make a huge impact on the transfer of knowledge and understanding of these systems to interested parties. As an…

cover photo by Isaac Szabo