--- title: "Court Rules That Legally, Bees Can Be Classified as Fish" description: "A California court has ruled that bees technically count as fish in a conservation effort that could actually end up helping the buzzy boys." date: "2022-06-03" modified: "2022-06-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/california-bees-fish" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "animal rights" - "bees" - "conservation" - "fish" - "fish and wildlife services" - "the digest" --- # Court Rules That Legally, Bees Can Be Classified as Fish ![A California court has ruled that bees technically count as fish in a conservation effort that could actually end up helping the buzzy boys.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Bee Kind Bees are fish, corporations are people — and California, as always, is an entertaining mess. A [California appellate court ruled]() this week that bees can legally be classified as fish, a decision which — albeit in an incredibly roundabout and bureaucratic manner — is poised to help protect bees in the Golden State. Although California's Department of Fish and Wildlife [considers a number of bee species to be "endangered]()," there were no previous legal protections under the state's [Endangered Species Act]() (ESA), which only protects "native species or subspecies of a bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, or plant," with no mention of insects. What's more, a number of lobbies across the state's agricultural industry argued with an initial ruling in 2020 that would allow bees to be protected under the state's ESA. So, the bee advocates at the [fascinatingly-named Xerces Society]() devised an ingenious yet bizarre workaround, [*Law & Crime* notes]() — pointing out that the Fish and Game Code of the state's ESA defines "fish" as anything that can be described as "a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals." ## Spineless You'll remember from biology class, the Xerces Society argued, that bees are invertebrates by definition of not having spines. Though a district court agreed with this legal argument in 2020, a higher court overturned the ruling, which led these tireless bee stans to sue once more to have the appeal overruled. In this latest ruling, the appellate court declared that the judiciary is "tasked with liberally construing" the state's Endangered Species Act to make sure it's effective. There's definitely some semantic issues with invertebrate classification — specifically, that [95 percent of all animal species fall within that category]() — that could lead to more trouble for this latest bee advocacy victory. But for now, at least, things appear to be going swimmingly — or buzzingly, depending on who you ask. **READ MORE:** [California Court Paves the Way for Protection of Imperiled Bumble Bees and Other Insects]() \[Xerces Society Invertebrate Conservation\] **More on buzzy boys:** [*Murder Hornets Have One Weakness, Scientists Say: Sex*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()