08/28/2026
We’re wrapping up Fishy Fridays with a nice little BOWfin🎀🐟
It’s our final Fishy Friday of the summer, and we’re throwing it back to one of the most primitive, predatory fish out there: Bowfin - the last surviving species of the Amiidae family. Known for their elongated bodies, mouths that extend past the eyes and a distinctive black spot with a yellow halo on the tail for males. These fish will eat any animal small enough to fit in their mouths and THEY CAN BREATHE OUT OF WATER, thus it can survive buried in mud without water for up to 21 days or within stagnant and warm water.
Don’t confuse Bowfin with Snakehead fish – they look very similar and are BOTH listed as prohibited species on the Fisheries (Alberta) Act. The a**l fin of Bowfin is much shorter, while a Snakehead’s a**l fin is more than half the length of its dorsal fin.
As we FINish our series, remember that spotting and reporting invasive fish doesn’t end here! And neither does your role in protecting Alberta’s waters:
🎀 Learn to identify Bowfin using our factsheet: abinvasives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ISF_FS-Bowfin.pdf
🎀 Report suspected sightings through the free EDDMapS app
🎀 Don’t Let it Loose! Never release aquarium fish into natural waterbodies
🎀 Never intentionally move or stock fish into another waterbody
