Hi Dead Fishes Project Community,

This project has a simple goal: to collect observations of dead fishes from around the globe. A few recent comments have prompted me to consider the nuances of what we consider "dead" fishes in this community. I may have been on my own in my previous considerations, so here I pose to you: what constitutes a dead fish- wash-up, bones, decaying organisms, fishes being preyed on, market fishes, fishes that are dying (i.e. have been poisoned by red tide) but not died yet, or any other markers or conditions? Please leave your suggestions for what constitutes dead fish in the comments. I will collate the suggestions we come up with into a comprehensive list of guidelines for observations to be included in this project.

My main concern is surrounding the boundary of death in observations- must the death be absolute and current (i.e. decayed remains), or do those that are in the act of dying "count" as dead fishes? Is a dead animal dead from the moment it biologically dies, unobserved- or does the moment of its consumption which is observed count? I have also come across a number of observations recently of fish that are ill from red tide that will likely die soon but have not yet- do these observations belong in this project? How we choose to define "dead fishes" as a project will determine how we move forward with such types of observations.

Thanks for your help and support,
Keira (Project Manager) less ↑