NFJC — Joint ASIH–AFS Committee on Names of Fishes

The Committee on Common and Scientific Names of Fishes was established as a result of a resolution passed by the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in 1933. In 1938, following reorganization, the committee, under the chairmanship of Carl L. Hubbs, commenced work on a list that was published in 1948 under the chairmanship of W. H. Chute (with 570 fish names). A joint committee was formed sometime between the production of the first and second editions with the addition of the ASIH.

The Joint ASIH-AFS Committee on Common and Scientific Names of Fishes prepares a list for publication of the names of fishes in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The basic goal is to promote uniformity in use of common names by selecting, in general, the most widely accepted names and present the list in a currently accepted classification of fishes including the scientific species name, family, order, and class.

In the first semester of 2025, the NFJC discussed the impacts of new records, newly described species, and taxonomic changes on the curated list of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To open the ongoing discussion to all parties interested, proposed additions and changes were classified into two groups:

a) Additions and changes that we have not reached consensus about, or that we anticipate to be controversial, either because of conflicting evidence or because they might affect fisheries or conservation management. A list of such such additions and changes is available here: https://etyfish.org/namescommittee/ (please send password requests to Juan Schmitter-Soto juan.schmitter-soto@fulbrightmail.org, or Chris Scharpf, chris@etyfish.org).

b) Additions and changes that we do not foresee as controversial because they are based in non-contested scientific evidence AND do not affect fisheries or conservation management.

The current NFJC (2025) is co-chaired by Juan Schmitter-Soto and Thomas Dowling.

Published Resources

Chute, W. H. (Chairman), R. M. Bailey, W. A. Clemens, J. R. Dymond, S. F. Hildebrand, G. S. Myers, and L. P. Schultz. 1948. A list of common and scientific names of the better known fishes of the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 1, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 45 p. (and Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 75: 355–398).

Bailey, R. M. (Chairman), E. A. Lachner, C. C. Lindsey, C. R. Robins, P. M. Roedel, W. B. Scott, and L. P. Woods. 1960. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 2, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 102 p.

Bailey, R. M. (Chairman), J. E. Fitch, E. S. Herald, E. A. Lachner, C. C. Lindsey, C. R. Robins, and W. B. Scott. 1970. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 3rd ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 6, Washington, D. C. 149 p.

Robins, C. R. (Chairman), R. M. Bailey, C. E. Bond, J. R. Brooker, E. A. Lachner, R. N. Lea, and W. B. Scott. 1980. A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 4th ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 12, Bethesda, Maryland. 174 p.

Robins, C. R. (Chairman), R. M. Bailey, C. E. Bond, J. R. Brooker, E. A. Lachner, R. N. Lea, and W. B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 5th ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20, Bethesda, Maryland. 183 p.

Robins, C. R. (Chairman), R. M. Bailey, C. E. Bond, J. R. Brooker, E. A. Lachner, R. N. Lea, and W. B. Scott. 1991. World fishes important to North Americans, exclusive of species from the continental waters of the United States and Canada. Spec. Public. 21, Amer. Fish. Soc., Bethesda, Maryland. 243 p.

Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States Canada and Mexico, 6th ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 p.

Page, L. M. (Chair), H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 7th ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland. 384 p.

Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neighbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. (editors). 2023. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 8th ed. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.11015

Schmitter-Soto, J. J., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, L. T. Findley, M. G. Girard, D. A. Hendrickson, K. L. Ilves, K. P. Maslenikov, G. Ruiz-Campos, and C. Scharpf. 2025. Addenda, corrigenda, et explanenda to Common and Scientific Names of Fishes, Eighth Edition. Fisheries. https://doi.org/10.1093/fshmag/vuaf083