Fish Fry Day: Fish Q? There’s an App for That

Happy Fish Fry Day! Restaurants around Wisconsin are warming up the deep fryers for our weekly feast and we’re putting fish on the menu here at the blog. Today’s special is an all-you-can-eat buffet of ichthyological goodness, thanks to an awesome new (and free) app for your smartphone, “Wisconsin Fish” From trophy muskies to the multitude of minnows and every fish in between, “Wisconsin Fish,” has got you covered. A collaboration of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and yours truly, UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology, Wisconsin Fish is both an online tool and a mobile app that will help you learn about and identify any fish you pull out of our waters. In our humble opinion, is a “must have” app. Here’s how it works: First, choose a defining feature of the fish in question. Distinct mouth shape? Funky-looking tail?           In this case, we selected “body shape” and got four options.           After choosing “laterally-compressed” body shape and a “superior mouth,” 9 species were left. One, of course, is no stranger to fish-fry aficionados, the beautiful bluegill.         Once you’ve found your fish, there are pictures galore and written descriptions of all distinguishing characteristics.         Of course, you can also approach your fish ID question from the other way around and simply look up the name of each fish. And the online version of the program has nice slideshows and FAQs of each fish, as well. So, happy Fish Fry Day! Enjoy getting to know your fish.

For the online version, visit: http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/home/Default.aspx?tabid=604

To download the mobile app, search for “Wisconsin Fish” in the iTunes store or go here: http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/home/Default.aspx?tabid=615