Chuck, that's great! Maybe a purple madtom :-)
You know, it's not hard to make something more meaningful from this. Much
like talking about how wild animal "attacks" are usually caused by human
intervention, these fish-related injuries are simply fishes' natural
defenses. We were the instigators-- those fish didn't swim into our homes
and bite and sting us. Painful human-fish interactions make us say "Boy,
was I foolish". But most human interactions don't result that instant
painful feedback. Much of what our society is doing to ecosystems gives the
fishes no recourse except to suffer or go extinct.
NANFA could develop a "Purple Madtom" award to symbolically sting people or
organizations who have directly caused harm to native fishes-- like the
Maryland DOT storing salt under bridges like Dave mentioned, or the
legislator Jan cited who said the state of Alabama didn't need any fish as
"ugly" as the Alabama sturgeon swimming in its waters.
-- Jay DeLong Olympia, WA
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