Photos and footage of criminal arrests for the llegal poaching of paddlefish, and much more. edit

If the editors overseeing this article think it would be useful, I can provide a link to a video segment showing actual paddlefish caviar, criminal arrests, and interviews with FWS special agents and Missouri state agents who participated in the much talked about covert operation that took place in Missouri back in the 80s. The sting operation was an historic event because 23 people were arrested, charged & successfully prosecuted in state court in Missouri, while 6 were arrested on felony charges at the federal level for interstate trafficking of wildlife. They were convicted, heavily fined and sentenced to time in a federal peneteniary. I can also make photographs available and help expand upon the paddlefish article in general, but my participation would be considered a COI, so I'm posting this information for editors to consider. I also need to mention there is a comprehensive one-hour documentary about paddlefish available for viewing at YouTube. The documentary is a valid resource produced in cooperation with State and Federal resource agencies, and contains rare underwater footage of paddlefish in the wild, interviews with State and Federal fish biologists, several of whom participated in the writing of "the books and research papers" that were the initial references for some of the Wiki references, including L.K. Graham, D.L. Scarnecchia, and Clifton Stone. The documentary also shows artificial propagation of paddlefish, C-section surgery, hatchery conditions, snagging, a demonstration of how poachers made caviar from paddlefish roe, etc. I await your response. Atsme (talk) 21:44, 14 October 2011 (UTC)Reply

I don't think any video showing people caught into questionable activities would fly here, unless the article was exactly about these questionable activity and those people. There would be concerns related to WP:BLP and privacy. About the documentary, that is probably a decent external link. By the way, why you editing the paddlefish article(s) would imply COI? Are you a paddlefish?   --cyclopiaspeak! 15:00, 9 June 2014 (UTC)Reply
I'm a primitive species.   Self-trout I made the COI comment back in 2011 before I fully understood what it meant. Oh, and I'm still working on uploading some bowfin video. I also have some footage of a paddlefish filter feeding, which should probably go with the American paddlefish article, and not the paddlefish article, or should it? And what about the taxobox on both the American paddlefish article and Paddlefish article? The image is an American paddlefish which doesn't look anything like a Chinese paddlefish. It was confusing enough trying to keep the information in the article itself separated especially considering there are only two extant species with more differences between them than similarities. Anyway, look over it when you get a chance. AtsmeConsult 05:53, 11 June 2014 (UTC)Reply
Well, trout myself as well, I didn't notice it was a 2011 comment! I now still want to go ahead with the bowfin, but I'll have a look at the paddlefish situation when I can. --cyclopiaspeak! 07:36, 11 June 2014 (UTC)Reply

COI edit

Per box at the top of this page, an editor has WP:SELFCITEd with regard to "earthwave". Those contribs need to be reviewed for NPOV and sourcing. Once the article is cleaned by an independent editor, the tag can be removed. If you do that, please leave a note here. Thanks. Jytdog (talk) 23:00, 4 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

I have no relationship with paddlefish. You are going to make the alligator gars jealous. Atsme📞📧 23:06, 4 July 2015 (UTC)Reply
Please see Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest/Noticeboard#Atsme.2C_Earthwave.2C_WP:SELFCITE.2C_Gabor_B._Racz I won't be interacting with you further on this, except to reply once at these various talk pages. Jytdog (talk) 00:02, 5 July 2015 (UTC)Reply
You keep saying that, but you keep interacting. Go away, please. What you are doing now is harassment. Atsme📞📧 03:36, 5 July 2015 (UTC)Reply
I note that the article has now been edited by an experienced independent editor, and I've removed the tag now since the two editors above I think are too involved to make an impartial judgement Jimfbleak - talk to me? 16:00, 14 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

Phylogeny edit

Very nice article. The phylogeny of these fish is so curious that it would be desirable to have a brief section on phylogeny, with a cladogram showing their position with respect to the cartilaginous and the bony fishes. This would go well with the existing image of a fossil, which by the way ought to be labelled with its age and geological period; and the time of origin of the group should be discussed and cited in the text. If nobody's feeling strong enough for a cladogram, find some suitable sources and ping me in a couple of weeks' time. Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:16, 1 August 2015 (UTC)Reply

Good suggestions, Chiswick Chap. I actually thought it would be best to finish out this article a little more before nominating it for GA but another editor nominated it. I'll see what I can do to follow through on your suggestion of a cladogram. Thanks. Atsme📞📧 17:36, 1 August 2015 (UTC)Reply

GA Review edit

This review is transcluded from Talk:Paddlefish/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Dunkleosteus77 (talk · contribs) 01:05, 17 August 2015 (UTC)Reply


Criteria edit

  • Well-written:
    • the prose is clear and concise, it respects copyright laws, and the spelling and grammar are correct --- What do you mean in the "Classification" section by saying " and four (if not five) extinct genera"; the sentence "The American paddlefish is one of the largest freshwater fish in North America." seems out of place in the "Habitat and historic range" section; rename the "Culture" section, something on the lines of "Aquaculture" or "Farming" or "In captivity"
    • it complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.
  • Verifiable with no original research:
    • it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline ---   Done probably one of the easier requirements to pass
    • all in-line citations are from reliable sources, including those for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines --- You've done a good job tracking down nice sources (for the most part at least). I can't guarantee the "reliability" of the sources, as I've had trouble identifying them myself, but I've looked up Paddlefish and it is quite hard to get a good amount of info on any one source (on google anyway...) You'll have to get another persons opinion for this requirement.
    • it contains no original research. ---   Done I don't believe you've written any pages on Paddlefish then cited them
  • Broad in its coverage:
    • it addresses the main aspects of the topic ---   Done and does so quite nicely
    • it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style). --- Perhaps you could move the bit about migration patterns from the "Habitat and historic range" section to "Life cycle"
  • Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias, giving due weight to each. ---   Done seems to me you weren't badmouthing Paddlefish or the people who extirpated them
  • Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute. ---   Done as far as I know, there have been no edit wars
  • Illustrated, if possible, by images:
    • images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content ---   Done only two images, but I can't blame you for that
    • images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions. ---   Done images for taxoboxes are very relevant

All in all it's a very well written article, providing a lot of information relative to the amount of references available. I do see this article as GA class. Dunkleosteus77 (push to talk) 01:05, 17 August 2015 (UTC)Reply

Dunkleosteus77, thank you for your time in reviewing this article and for your suggestions for improvement. I removed (if not five) from the Classification section; removed the sentence about American paddlefish being the largest freshwater fish in North America, and renamed the culture section to Propagation and culture for consistency with the FA, American paddlefish. I think that pretty much covers it. Atsme📞📧 05:43, 20 August 2015 (UTC)Reply
Well, you've done a very good job before you started this review, and that's all I really have to say. It can pass. Dunkleosteus77 (push to talk) 21:39, 21 August 2015 (UTC)Reply

Endemic to Mississippi River Valley or Not? edit

I know Paddle Fish exist in the Trinity River in East Texas. The Article states they are Endemic to the Mississippi River Basin. Later the page says the are endemic to the Mississippi River Basin & found in other Gulf Slope Watersheds. So... they are Not Endemic to the Mississippi River Basin. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JustinLoyalWoodall (talkcontribs) 16:45, 14 April 2016 (UTC)Reply

It seems like you have a point. Do you have an RS for Paddle Fish living in the Trinity River in East Texas? DrChrissy (talk) 18:39, 14 April 2016 (UTC)Reply
I changed it to "native" for the American paddlefish and left endemic for the Chinese paddlefish. Atsme📞📧 05:54, 20 April 2016 (UTC)Reply