How did the Jewfish get it's name?

[neil]

That would make me "exotic Biota"........... Hey, I kinda like that..!!

I like to characterize myself as charismatic megafauna.

 

[PapaBob]

Late to the thread as usual...

Six of my dive buddies are Jewish and I have been diving with one of them for 25 years. It has always been a Jewfish to them, and the reference has never offended. Several weeks ago I told dive buddies Jeff and Susan (she keeps a Kosher kitchen) that Jewfish had been change to Goliath Grouper. Their response: Why?

Gee, I am Catholic. Can we rename a fish so my faith is represented? You don't want to offend me, do you?

---Bob

 

[TX101]

I remember a woman from the US working in Australia while I was there and asking:

Her: "So, do you have many African Americans over here?"
Me: "A few I guess, but mostly tourists.."
Her: "What about the ones that were already here when the English settled?"
Me: "I had no idea there were any African Americans in Australia over 200 years ago."
Her: "???"

I still don't think she "got" it.

 

[Dot Wethington]

I am not sure where the name "Jewfish" comes from-- but my theory-- is Everyone knows the story of "Jonah swallowed by the Whale"-- in the Bible-- well -- maybe it was a very large grouper -- Jonah was Jewish, and hence the grouper swallowed the Jew??? All I know is you certainly don't want to put your hand near those cute, loveable looking Goliath Groupers, because they will take you by the hand and lead you all the way to the Dead Sea!!! Ever see that episode of Manny who got grabbed by a Goliath Grouper? He had to drag it all the way to the surface in order for it to let go-- and he was lucky-- (he was free diving at the time).

The story of how the Jewfish got its name is an interesting one-- I would like to know the real story.

What about how did the Nurse Shark get its name???

Dottie Wethington, Licensed Nurse, EMT, Nitrox Diver and Lover of all Wildlife-

 

[Walter]

Nurse sharks make a sucking sound. It sounds like they are nursing.

 

[scubadada]

Found by accident, good old thread

 

[divin'dog]

not just USA, UK has got it pretty bad as well,

Manhole covers - now public access covers (not PC for females)
Then one of the London local councils a few years back went really crazy over what they claimed were racist issues. I hope this doesnt come accross as racist, i am not racist, but it is just stupid imho and takes peoples focus away from the real issues.

Bin liners for the trash can were at the time in UK all a black colour, because it is a cheap colour to make, and they were known simply as 'black bin liners" said council found this PC offensive and ordered all the bin liners to be some other colour like grey which then cost them more.

In the UK we have a childrens nursery rhyme called 'bah bah black sheep' you may have it in USA as well. Like most nursery rhymes it has a story with some background to it. It is actually kind of a protest song from the 18th centuary about an industrial dispute. It is not even about Sheep be they black, white or Purple with pink spots. However yet again the council stepped in and made all the primary schools in the region start singing "bah bah green sheep"

Doh

Your tax pounds hard at work...

In the US, our tax dollars work just as hard... unfortunately! :sad:

 

[The Chairman]

A few years ago, an aging cracker who worked for FWC told me that it was originally called the Jewel Fish for the bright blue jewels on it's face. Southern drawls ultimately truncated the name to Jewfish. However, renaming it the Goliath Grouper is ironic as this was the Jew's worst enemy in the Old Testament. I still call it the Jewfish.

Other names have been corrupted over the years, so this should be no surprise to us. The Spanish "el lagarto" become "alligator" and places like Carysfort Reef was actually named after the HMS Carysford. Names evolve and change over the years no matter what language you speak. BTW, the term "cracker" has an interesting origin too. It refers to the old Florida cowboys who used whips to control their herds. While a few see it as an insult, most native Floridians use it to honor their native Floridian elders.

 

[mblazer]

I dove with this little guy off of Key Largo last August:



To me it's a Jewfish, not some silly PC name, and I take no offense at it - nor do I know any other members of my tribe who do. But when the numb nut with an IQ equal to his shoe size spouts the crap he did, I get a wee bit testy. No offense intended to the greater population of crackers, rednecks, hill rods, lipnickies, etc.

 

[Rod Hagen]

Here in Aus a completely different species is called a "Jewfish" in some states. The Key Largo one pictured looks much more like what we'd call a "Queensland Groper" or "Giant Grouper". The Oz "jewfish" has some vague similarities, and can grow to substantial size, but is a very different species from a very different family, though it was probably named after yours by early English mariners.

Here the answer is easy. Its Yaralde (an Indigenous language) name is "Mulloway", and it is generally known as such in the southern states. Maybe there is an Indigenous name for your northern hemisphere namesake? Certainly overcome any concerns some may have about "correctness" and give you a name of far greater antiquity too!