Holy mackerel! Fishtown man schools neighborhood on fun fish facts.
Niall Paredes, a 32-year-old Fishtown resident, educates his neighbors on various species of fish through posters around his neighborhood.
If you’ve ventured out for a stroll in Fishtown in recent months you may have observed what looks like a page torn out of an oceanography textbook tacked to a lamppost or electrical pole.
It probably features a clinical-looking photo of a fish, that species’ Latin nomenclature, and a short blurb about the slithering sea dweller.
However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find these posters are only marginally educational.
“Striped Bass or Morone saxatilis,” one poster reads, above an image of an open-mouthed, beady-eyed, gray-and-white fish with translucent fins. “Slappadabass mon! Striped Bass live in Philadelphia water slurp slurp. Striped Bass born in saltwater, but live in fresh water. Stripe Bass lay 3,000,000 eggs. not in this economy!!!”
Disclaimer: Don’t rely on the facts in these posters to ace your next marine biology test. They’re not always accurate. Striped bass actually live in saltwater and spawn in freshwater typically, not the reverse.
Fishtown fish facts, this series of more than a hundred posters across the area, was never an endeavor to turn a profit or rally support for a cause like some similar lamppost literature. It was just a modest attempt to make his neighbors smile, said 32-year-old Niall Paredes, the brain behind the piscine production.
The posters contribute to a rich history of both professional and unsanctioned public art across the city. Mural Arts Philadelphia has facilitated more than 4,000 works of public art since its 1984 founding as an anti-graffiti network, while artists and amateurs alike have taken to the streets to plaster their own ephemeral works across Philadelphia.
Paredes, a native Philadelphian, got the idea for the series about a year ago after moving to Fishtown. As a creative, both professionally producing TV commercials and recreationally working with photo and video, he saw artistic potential in the telephone polls around his new neighborhood.
They were covered in flyers. Some asked for help. Some asked for attention. Some asked for money.
None simply asked for a laugh.
“I just kind of was inspired and started playing around with some funky fish,” he said.
Because, you know, Fishtown.
Since then, Paredes estimates he’s created hundreds of Fishtown fish facts posters highlighting dozens of species of fish.
His write-ups are infused with his own unique brand of humor. The descriptions read like a Mad Libs of Gen Z slang with some 2000s texting lingo sprinkled in the mix.
He punctuates each poster with the same tagline — “take a moment and realize the moment you took has already passed.”
The sentiment is intended to encourage the reader to stop, reflect, and “keep pushing” wherever they’re at in life, Paredes said.
Along the way, Paredes, whose only real relationship with marine biology is through surfing, has boned up on his knowledge of aquatic vertebrates.
Shad are quickly angling their way to the top of his ranking of most interesting fish, he said. That’s partly due to a legend that asserts that shad saved George Washington’s troops from starvation in 1778 at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War.
“When Jeopardy! hits fish, I’m ready to roll,” Paredes said.
As far as the future of Fishtown fish facts go, Paredes said pedestrians can expect to be enlightened on many more species soon. And he’s planning to expand his fish facts to other neighborhoods; he’s already sprinkled some in Manayunk, Center City, and South Philly.
“I’m definitely going to be working on it for a bit,” he said. “I mean, there’s a lot of fish in the ocean.”