Fishes of Minnesota

Fishes of Minnesota Mapper: An interactive online mapping tool

The Fishes of Minnesota Mapper was designed for biologists, educators and their students, naturalists, anglers and other individuals who seek Minnesota fish distribution data for research, planning, presentations and recreation.

With Fishes of Minnesota Mapper, you can...

  • Access a large, historical collection of fish data from various sources, including MN and WI Departments of Natural Resources, MN Pollution Control Agency, James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Excel Energy/Minnesota Power and private consultants.
  • Query the database using various criteria (Filters) and view the resulting tabular data records.
  • Generate fish species lists for Minnesota lakes and streams.
  • Create maps showing the distribution of various fish species across Minnesota.
  • Download data as a tabular file (.csv) for Excel or an ArcView shapefile (.shp) for GIS mapping and analysis.
Please note: This database contains fish records collected over a long period and many different surveys using various sampling methods. The absence of a fish species in a particular water body doesn't guarantee that it doesn't occur there, only that it wasn't recorded during the survey(s) performed. Similarly, the presence of a species at the time a survey was performed doesn't guarantee that the species still occurs there.  Additionally, due to the many different gears and efforts used, comparisons of population abundance among surveys or water bodies are generally not valid except for data from MNDNR Fisheries Lake Survey, which uses standardized gear and methods.

We strive to improve the Fishes of Minnesota Mapper, and we welcome your comments regarding how to make it more user-friendly, including suggestions for additional features. We would also appreciate receiving digital images and locations of rare species, non-native species, or new occurrences of any species in Minnesota’s 12 regional drainages.

Contact us at: [email protected]

FAQs | how to use | map icons | metadata | data sources and dates

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