Formerly Known As Jewfish

Interesting column.
I'm pasting the entire article here because the Orlando Sentinel is a password read and some may not want to set one up. All the following is quoted:
This fish story may not have kosher ending
Mike Thomas - Orlando Sentinel columnist
Published April 23, 2004
I ran into a huge jewfish back in the days when they still were jewfish.
It was staring out from an underwater outcropping in the Gulf of Mexico, like a Hummer parked in a garage.
Jewfish resemble armored vehicles with fins. They grow upwards of 800 pounds with massive mouths that take up half their heads.

Three years ago, the seven-member Committee on Names of Fishes, changed the name of jewfish to goliath grouper. This was done at the behest of a Georgia biologist who felt the name jewfish lacked sensitivity.
Rabbi Bruce Diamond of Fort Myers was not impressed: "I tell you, in the universe of things that need to change, the name of a big grouper is low on the list."
I also might point out that the fish's new namesake made a career out of killing Jews until he ran into David.
If the intent of the fish-naming committee was to purge the name jewfish, it failed. Every reference to goliath grouper contains the phrase, "formerly known as jewfish."
Now that the name jewfish has been politically corrected, this begs the question: What about Jewfish Creek? And what about the Jewfish Creek Bridge? The latter crosses the former in Key Largo.

A bill in the Florida Senate would require all landmarks with potentially offensive names be considered for renaming. Most entail use of the word Negro, such as Negro Island near the Little Manatee River, Negrotown Marsh in Highlands County or Negro Jim Scrub in St. Lucie County.
I certainly understand the concern. But there is a trade-off. Some names have a story behind them. A name can invoke curiosity that leads people to a history lesson they otherwise would have missed. And some history should not be forgotten, such as the way black prisoners were brutalized on Negro Island.
Jewfish Creek usually is mentioned when the Senate bill is discussed. There seems to be little significant history behind it. Maybe someone saw a jewfish there 100 years ago.
As for the name jewfish itself, the origin remains a matter of speculation. It may have begun as a slur. It may have evolved from the word "jawfish" because of its huge mouth. One theory dates back to the story of Jonah because it could have been a jewfish that swallowed him. Hence, the fish that eats Jews.
The earliest reference I could find is from 1697. This quote from an English explorer is found in the Oxford English Dictionary: "The Jew-Fish is a very good fish and, I judge, so called by the English because it hath scales and fins, therefore a clean fish, according to Levitical law."
In other words, jewfish are kosher.
If there is a move to rename Jewfish Creek, it won't be the first. Two years ago a man petitioned the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to do it. That also would have necessitated a name change for the bridge because you can't have Jewfish Creek Bridge crossing Goliath Grouper Creek.
The board contacted the Monroe County Commission, which has the final say. The commission, backed by representatives of local synagogues, rejected the request.
"We deemed this a bit nonsensical," says Monroe County Mayor Murray Nelson.
Imagine having to write: "The Goliath Grouper Creek Bridge, formerly known as the Jewfish Creek Bridge, crosses Goliath Grouper Creek, formerly known as Jewfish Creek."