Charismatic Mega Fish Fauna

The biggest animal in Philadelphia (and other port cities) isn’t a deer or a coyote, it’s a fish. We talk with biologist Shannon White about Atlantic sturgeon and her research into their depressingly reduced populations. We talk about how the caviar boom of the late 1800s devastated sturgeon populations, and about how their slow life history, channelization, boat traffic, anchor dragging, and exotic species (like blue and channel catfish) work against their recovery. We talk about how people might accidentally or intentionally introduce captive stock of sturgeon into the wild and why that is a terrible idea. Tony blames America’s dysfunctional health insurance system on shad (and how they fed George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge). We also talk about snorkeling in rivers (are smallmouth bass really cuddly?), how fish ladders work, and Billy’s dreams of spear fishing flathead catfish to examine their stomach contents, even though they are too toxic to eat.