Intro of Cohos came when the #GreatLakes were in a bad spot: by the 1950s, invasive lamprey had wreaked havoc on native predators like lake trout. Without predators, numbers of alewife (another invasive) exploded - some may remember piles of dead fish on beaches #25DaysofFishmas

In the 1960s, Dr. Howard Tanner of the MI DNR brought Coho + Chinook salmon to the #GreatLakes with the idea to kill two birds with one stone: (1) control invasive alewives + (2) create a sport fishery - the fast-growing Coho was the first species stocked in 1966 #25DaysofFishmas

To many, the idea of introducing Pacific salmon to the #GreatLakes was seen as the best #Fishmas gift ever - it spawned a multi-billion dollar fishery. The first Coho spawning run in 1967 sparked "Coho Fever" among anglers + created a coastal economic boom #25DaysofFishmas

Change, the one constant in the #GreatLakes! Introduction of yet another invasive (zebra/quagga mussels) in the 1990s reduced the plankton available to alewives (dominant prey of Coho + Chinook). Managers now have to balance # salmon stocked with # prey available #25DaysofFishmas

#Fishmas Grinch or not? Though not native to the #GreatLakes, Coho salmon aren’t often considered “invasive” because they benefit humans by providing an economically-important fishery - but they still can compete with native species like brook trout #25DaysofFishmas

Congrats to everyone who guessed the Coho Salmon for the final #SundayFishSketch-#25DaysofFishmas crossover of this year - what a fin-tastic way to bring things to a close!

Day 24 of #24DaysofFishmas and #SketchFishmas. Coho Salmon for crossover with #SundayFishSketch

🎶I’m dreaming of a White #Fishmas🎶 Even if there’s no snow on the ground wherever you find yourself this year, our final fish feature will ensure all your #Fishmas-es will be white! ❄️ The White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis) helps us close out this year's #25DaysofFishmas

White crappie’s common name (typically pronounced “crop-ee”) derives from the Canadian French “crapet” used for members of the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family - crappie are also known as speckled bass (or "specks"), papermouth, calico bass, or sac-au-lait #25DaysofFishmas

White crappie are native to central North America (west of the Appalachians) from Ontario south to the Gulf of Mexico. Because of their popularity with anglers, they’ve also been introduced widely across almost every U.S. state, Canada, Mexico, Morocco + Panama #25DaysofFishmas

There are two species of crappie in the #GreatLakes - white + black. The number of dorsal spines tells them apart: white have 5-6 while black have 7-8. White crappie also have dark blotches arranged in vertical bars (scientific name “annularis” = “having rings”) #25DaysofFishmas

White and black crappie are generally very similar in appearance and habits - but in regions where both species are present (like the #GreatLakes region), white crappie typically predominate in warmer and more turbid (murky) waters #25DaysofFishmas

Like many of its relatives in the Centrarchidae family (bluegill, pumpkinseed, etc.), white crappie is considered a “panfish” - an umbrella term often used to describe edible freshwater fish species that don’t grow larger than the size of an average frying pan #25DaysofFishmas

One person’s Santa is another’s Grinch: Though white crappie are native in the #GreatLakes region, they can have cause trouble when introduced to new locations - in the Pacific Northwest, for example, they can prey on juvenile salmon (doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3…) #25DaysofFishmas

Wherever #Fishmas Day finds you, I hope you have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the world around us. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful 7th year of #25DaysofFishmas - here's to more fishy fun throughout the whole year!

White Crappie. Until next year #25DaysofFishmas. Get some rest Katie O'Reilly. Until the next fish event Hell Site, I’ll be over on BlueSky. #SketchFishmas

Seven years of #25DaysofFishmas wouldn't have been possible without the OG crew Titus Seilheimer, Dr. Solomon David, Nicole Wood, Jason Barnucz + @donaldorth. Twitter has changed, but their support hasn't! And special thanks to Titus for making the perfect addition to my #Fishmas tree!

Our New Year’s Resolution? To look fabulous with a new logo 😎 We hope that our new logo will visually communicate our connection with American Fisheries Society while also communicating who WE are as the #scicomm Section. Be sure to renew your membership for 2024!

Something that Katie O'Reilly and Dr. Solomon David need to see: gocomics.com/theargylesweat…

For fisheries outreach specialist Titus Seilheimer's favorite project of 2023, we're rewinding to when the world was warm and green. Seilheimer worked on #manoomin (wild rice) restoration and research in the bay of #GreenBay. Read more: seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/tossing-s… Titus Seilheimer