By: Dana Sackett “Clutching the bottle of water I had just collected from the Pee Dee River, I climbed the steep embankment back to our truck wondering how much estrogen we would find in our sample. We spent the better part of a month driving across North Carolina to examine a suite of chemicals called…
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…
The Trout You’ve Never Heard Of (and Almost Never Did)
By Craig Springer, Guest Blogger The trout stole its color from a southern New Mexico summer sunset. Gila trout sport a painter’s pallet of pink and olive, rose, yellow, copper—and a few tones in between. Beneath the black pepper flakes that fleck its side lies a lexis—a language carried forward from another time. It’s an…
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,…
Surprisingly common fish-based products
At The Fisheries Blog, it’s easy for us to see fish in everything we do – fish are our careers, our pastimes, our life! But, every once in a while, we like to remind you that fish are in everything YOU do, too! You might be surprised how frequently fish make an appearance this holiday…
Q-n-A: CO2 Barriers to Fish Movement
A few weeks ago we covered the topic of using CO2 as a barrier to fish movement. For a refresher, you can read about it here, but the basic idea is that some river locks may be infused with CO2, creating a plume of CO2 water that is released when the lock is open and…
Why didn’t the fish cross under the road?
Think about how you arrived to work or school today, yesterday, or last week. Did you go by car, bike, or train? Did your journey include traveling over a river, wetland, stream, or estuary? If you answered yes to either of these questions, it is very likely that you crossed over a possible barrier to fish…
I’ll have the jellyfish…
“I’ll have the jellyfish!” might be a phrase heard more often as this seafood item gains popularity with chefs and takes a place on more menus. As we fish throughout the food web, eco-minded consumers are looking for and demanding options that are more sustainable and are mindful of varying impacts of the fisheries on…
Unlikely invaders
by Brandon Peoples The media likes to make a big deal about invasive species. We’ve seen plenty videos of jumping carp, documentaries about Red Lionfish, and photos of pipes choked by zebra muzzels. But what about the other aquatic invaders, the ones that sometimes sneak past the headlines…the species that may even be threatened in their…
Some Unexpected Consequences of Climate Change
By: Troy Farmer, a postdoctoral researcher at Auburn University On a global scale, aquatic systems are warming. Average temperatures in the world’s oceans have been steadily increasing over the past 50 years. Given that the observed warming trends are predicted to continue, our job, as fisheries scientists, is to understand how fish are presently being…
Fish or Treat: 6 Halloween Inspired Fish
Illustrated by Hannah Dean; Written by Patrick Cooney In October of last year we brought you fish that inspired scary Halloween costumes. This year we bring you a new gang of ghastly fish with Halloween inspired names. Vampire Fish Vampire fish have massive 6 inch fangs used to impale fish. Although vampire fish have a Transylvania inspired name,…
Why aren’t insect aquaculture feeds more common?
Insects are an economical, environmentally efficient, nutrient rich feed that could reduce the need for wild caught fish feed or other plant-based protein feed additives in aquaculture. This seems like a win all around, right?
CO2 Fish Barriers
Asian carp are here in the US to stay. This group of fishes are often called Bigheaded carps, and typically includes silver carp, bighead carp, grass carp, and black carp. Each species was brought to the US from Asia for different reasons—for example, grass carp were introduced for weed control as they eat vegetation. Each…
Conservation Road Maps for The Coming Decade
By Michelle Staudinger Every 10 years, State natural resource agencies review the health (or decline) of their fish, wildlife, and associated habitats. They take a proactive approach, thinking carefully about the priorities, challenges, and actions they would like to accomplish during the coming decade. All of this planning and reflection is packaged into each State’s…
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