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no squawfish
Months ago on the NANFA list we discussed the name "squawfish"
because there was serious professional discussion about renaming the
fish the "bigmouth minnow". I just found out the name squawfish has
officially been replaced by "pike minnow". So now it's the Colorado
pike minnow, Sacramento pike minnow, etc.
Apparently the term "squaw" is a derogatory term for women and is
rightly offensive to American Indians. The fish may have gotten that
name because there were fish the men caught (like salmon in the
Pacific NW, where Ptychochielus oregonensis is native) and fish the
women caught. Apparently women caught fewer salmon and more
Ptychocheilus. When early settlers saw this they labeled the fish
squawfish.
Jay DeLong
Olympia, WA
"The wildlife of today is not ours to dispose
of as we please. We have it in trust, and must
account for it to those who come after".
King George VI