Ahh, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – the one U.S. Agency that amid the climate crisis and political trash fire of the past several decades is “dedicated to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plants, and their habitats,” according to their official website. Amid this string of much-needed, ecologically conscious good deeds, one question remains – who – to quote my 60-something midwestern mother – on God’s green earth named this service and why does whover named this not count fish among wildlife?
As someone who confidently graduated kindergarten circa 2002, I’ve long been able to distinguish that fish are, in fact, members of the animal kingdom and therefore by all logical conclusions, should be deemed as wildlife, but don’t take it from me – take it from the experts at the New England Aquarium that are actually paid to do fish-related research and tasks – and not just overshare on the internet like yours truly.
“Fishes are a group of animals that are completely aquatic vertebrates that have gills, scales, swim bladders to float, most produce eggs, and are ectothermic,” reads a document from their website differentiating fish from marine mammals. “Sharks, stingrays, skates, eels, puffers, seahorses, clownfish are all examples of fishes.” Take care, dear readers, to note the phrase “fish are a group of animals” in this description.
All pedantic arguments aside, the likely answer of why fish are not categorized as wildlife, at least apparently in the eyes of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s founders, is like most other environmental-related quandaries — long, unnecessarily complicated, and quite concerning.
“… mainstream, primarily white, America has historically not valued common fish in the same ways as other more charismatic species, particularly land and sea mammals,” , Lissa Wadewitz, an environmental history researcher who currently serves as the Chair of Linfield University’s department of history wrote in her 2011 journal article, “Are Fish Wildlife?”. “The physical characteristics of an animal, its habitat type, its commercial value, and ideas about property in animals all may have influenced popular perceptions of aquatic versus terrestrial species. These issues have, in turn, greatly influenced regulatory and conservation efforts for some species.”