Senate Joint Resolution 4 - Introduced



                                  SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION       
                                  BY  COURTNEY, FRAISE, DEARDEN,
                                      KETTERING, JOHNSON, HANCOCK,
                                      GASKILL, SCHOENJAHN, BLACK,
                                      HOUSER, WIECK, LUNDBY, HORN,
                                      and STEWART


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

  1 A Joint Resolution designating the channel catfish as the
  2    official state fish for the State of Iowa.
  3    WHEREAS, the channel catfish (ictalurus punctatus) is a native
  4 fish to Iowa's prairie streams and rivers inhabiting all 99
  5 counties, and is one of the most abundant fish in Iowa lakes,
  6 streams, and rivers; and
  7    WHEREAS, the channel catfish's appearance is easily
  8 recognizable by its slender scaleless body, deeply forked tail,
  9 fleshy whiskers, and sharp spines; and
 10    WHEREAS, the channel catfish can be caught with a wide variety
 11 of tackle, most of which is inexpensive and available to all
 12 anglers; and
 13    WHEREAS, the channel catfish is excellent table fare, with
 14 Iowa anglers reporting that they eat catfish more often than any
 15 other sport fish; and
 16    WHEREAS, more Iowans participate in sport fishing than any
 17 other outdoor recreational sport with nearly one million anglers
 18 spending approximately $400 million annually and generating $1.2
 19 billion in economic activity; and
 20    WHEREAS, the channel catfish is the most preferred fish among
 21 Iowa anglers, reaching trophy size above 30 pounds and providing
  1 pole=bending action, with over four million caught annually; and
  2    WHEREAS, the channel catfish is an important fish to
  3 Mississippi river commercial fishers with nearly 500,000 pounds
  4 of channel catfish marketed each year from the river; NOW
  5 THEREFORE,
  6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  7 TLSB 2232SS 81
  8 av/pj/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  STATE FISH DESIGNATED.  The channel catfish
  1  2 (ictalurus punctatus) is designated and shall be officially
  1  3 known as the state fish of Iowa.
  1  4    Sec. 2.  APPROPRIATE REPRESENTATIONS.  The director of the
  1  5 department of cultural affairs shall obtain appropriate
  1  6 pictures and other representations of the channel catfish and
  1  7 shall display the pictures and representations in an
  1  8 appropriate place in the state historical museum.
  1  9    Sec. 3.  OFFICIAL REGISTER.  The editor of the Iowa
  1 10 official register shall include an appropriate picture and
  1 11 commentary of the channel catfish in the Iowa official
  1 12 register, along with the pictures of the state rock, state
  1 13 flower, state bird, and state tree.
  1 14                           EXPLANATION
  1 15    This joint resolution designates the channel catfish as the
  1 16 official state fish of Iowa.  The director of the department
  1 17 of cultural affairs shall obtain pictures and other
  1 18 appropriate representations of the state fish and display the
  1 19 pictures and information in the state historical museum.  The
  1 20 editor of the Iowa official register shall include a picture
  1 21 of the state fish along with pictures of the state rock, state
  1 22 flower, state bird, and state tree.
  1 23 LSB 2232SS 81
  1 24 av:nh/pj/5