Guest Author: Tim Bonvechio; Editor: Patrick Cooney Black bass are the most popular freshwater sportfish in the USA. Their popularity as a sportfish has expanded their distribution from North America to around the world through human introductions. While Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass are arguably the most widely known and dispersed black bass species, there is…
Category: Fun Fish Fodder
The 7 Wonderful Gar of the World
“As useless and destructive in our productive waters as wolves and foxes formerly were in our pastures and poultry yards” ~Forbes & Richardson, 1920 “Overall, they look less like a fish than a medieval dart” ~Lawrence Payne, 2016 “They’re like an alligator with fins instead of legs” ~Solomon David, describing a gar to just about…
Book review: Sex in the Sea
If you like dirty jokes about whale junk, we know just the book. As you know, we at The Fisheries Blog are fascinated with reproductive ecology of fishes. I’ve written articles on multi-species spawning parties and other strange spawning tactics, and Patrick is fascinated with sex-changing clownfish and doubly-endowed sharks. But Dr. Marah Hardt has us beat….
Finding Dory’s memory : Do fish remember?
Dory, the goofy, lovable Blue Tang adds comic relief with her short-term memory loss. Do fish actually remember?
Breeding colors of freshwater fishes
You don’t have to fly to Cozumel to see pretty fishes. Freshwater fishes are amazingly colorful, but are underrated. Fish enthusiasts and divers often flock to tropical latitudes and coral reefs to see exotic, specimens. However, some of the most eye-catching specimens are swimming in North American streams at this very moment. It’s spawning season…
Sold! Visiting the only tuna auction in the United States
By Patrick Cooney SOLD! In the coldest room in Hawaii, it took just one minute and nineteen seconds for the 133.0 pound Tombo Ahi Tuna to sell for $9.20 a pound at 5:33 am on a crisp August morning. Before the end of the week, the $1,223.60 tuna will be eaten in a high-end restaurant in…
How fish stats stack up: food and livelihoods
Here are a few specific fisheries statistics comparisons to help show just how important fish are for food and livelihoods.
Nemo isn’t the only transgender fish in the sea
By Lindsay Glass Campbell, Guest Blogger Out to burst the bubble of Disney enthusiasts everywhere comes the revelation that Flounder of the Little Mermaid might have been an XX-male fish. It’s not just Nemo who is deceiving you! Then again, the fish named Flounder in the cartoon has no real resemblance to an actual flounder…
Who needs a backbone when you have toxins: our top 5 most venomous ocean invertebrates
Illustrations by the very talented Hannah Dean. Written by Dana Sackett. Inspired by your comments on our previous article, the most poisonous and venomous fish, we decided to highlight those other sea creatures that, despite not having a backbone, also pack a powerful toxic punch. 1. First on the list are the box jellyfish or…
Biologists cut the faces off of fish to save streams (VIDEO)
By Patrick Cooney, Certified Fisheries Professional Scientists at hatcheries are cutting the faces off of fish as part of a program to improve the health of rivers, but why? Read on, and you will realize that this rather barbaric act makes scientific sense. Video by Patrick Cooney What do gardens and rivers have in common?…
Three a-LURE-ing aquatic adaptations!
Hey anglers, what’s your favorite fishing lure? Does it mimic a minnow? How about a crayfish or salamander? As sport fishing has become more popular, fishing lures have evolved to appear more and more realistic. But they still can’t match the natural lures produced my millions of years of evolution. This week, we’ve teamed up…
My Fishy Valentine
From the free love fest of Nassau Groupers to the one, true love of the Four-eyed Butterflyfish, this Valentine’s Day, The Fisheries Blog take a look at the different forms of fish love ♥ ♥ ♥
Deeper understanding from shallow streams
Chubs are prolific ecosystem engineers. Photo by B. Peoples Chubs (Nocomis spp.) are large minnows that are common throughout eastern North America. In spring, adult male chubs carry gravel in their mouths to construct large, mound-shaped nests for spawning. Nests can be 1.5 m in diameter and over a half-meter tall. Chub nests are unique…
Sea Lions and a Flying Fish to the Face
By Patrick Cooney, Certified Fisheries Scientist Just as my head emerged from the water’s surface, “WHACK!”. My ears rang with a sharp noise as I tried to make sense of what had just struck me across the face at the tail end my first night Scuba dive. The Channel Islands, often called the Galapagos of…
Fish That Light Up Your Season!
Illustrations: Hannah Dean; Author: Patrick Cooney and Abigail Lynch On this Winter Solstice, we hope to add a little brightness to your darkest day (for those in the Northern Hemisphere). Imagine walking your dog in the dark of night and not needing a flashlight, or scuba diving to deep depths and not needing to bring a light source,…
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