Cynoscion regalis, the weakfish, is a marine ray-finned fish of the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers.
Archosargus probatocephalus, the sheepshead, sheepshead seabream or convict fish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. This species is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The sheepshead is an important species to recreational and commercial fisheries.
The Atlantic tripletail, also known as the black grunt, black perch, buoy fish, buoyfish, brown triple tail, brown tripletail, conchy leaf, dusky triple-tail, dusky tripletail, flasher, sleepfish, triple tail, triple-tail, tripletail, or tripple tail is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae. This fish is found in tropical and subtropical waters around the world except for the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Atlantic menhaden is a North American species of fish in the herring family, Alosidae.
The Atlantic silverside, also known as spearing in the northeastern United States, is a small species of fish that is one of the most abundant fish species present in estuarine habitats along the Atlantic coast of North America. It is a common subject of scientific research because of its sensitivity to environmental changes. According to the IUCN Red List, this species is stable and has no major threats to its populations, so it is marked Least Concern. Despite being an extremely common species, most individuals die after one year once they migrate offshore, but a few will make it to two years. The fish is mostly translucent, with white coloring on the anterior end of the body and brown speckling on the top of the head, posterior scales on the back, and near the jaw. A distinctive silver band runs the length of the fish, next to the lateral line. Their mouths are large compared to other Menidia species, and their first dorsal fin are placed more posteriorly than other silversides.
The blue runner, also known as the bluestripe jack, Egyptian scad, hardtail jack or hardnose, is a common species of moderately large marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. The blue runner is distributed across the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Brazil to Canada in the western Atlantic and from Angola to Great Britain including the Mediterranean in the east Atlantic. The blue runner is distinguished from similar species by several morphological features, including the extent of the upper jaw, gill raker count and lateral line scale counts. The blue runner is known to reach a maximum length of 70 cm and 5.05 kg in weight, but is much more common below 35 cm. The species inhabits both inshore and offshore environments, predominantly over reefs, however it is known to congregate around large, man-made, offshore structures such as oil platforms. Juveniles tend to inhabit shallower reef and lagoon waters, before moving to deeper waters as adults.
The Pacific ladyfish, also known as the Pacific tenpounder and machete, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Elops, the only genus in the monotypic family Elopidae. The Pacific ladyfish can be found throughout the southwest U.S. and other areas in the Pacific Ocean.
The reef butterflyfish. also known as the least butterflyfish, Atlantic butterflyfish, butterbun or school mistress, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish of the family Chaetodontidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
The little tunny, also known as the bacora, little tuna, bonita, or erroneously as the blue bonito, is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It can be found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Black seas; in the western Atlantic, it ranges from Brazil to the New England states. The little tunny is a pelagic fish that can be found regularly in both offshore and inshore waters, and it is classified as a highly migratory species. The little tunny is best identified by the "worm-like" markings on its back and the dark spots appearing between its pectoral and ventral fins.
The glassy sprat is a type of sprat fish. The fish, when alive, is translucent, so it gets the second word in its scientific name from the Latin word translucidus, meaning transparent, diaphanous. In animal classification the glassy sprat belongs to Osteichthyes, Clupeiformes, Clupeidae, Hyperlophus. The glassy sprat is native to Australia and mainly found in Australia. It is marked as NE because it has not yet been evaluated by the World Animal Protection. It is mainly used as an economical aquatic product. In ecosystems, they are at the bottom end of the food chain, feeding mainly on plankton, which are less aggressive and very vulnerable to other fish. Glassy sprat are tiny in size and translucent with a silvery streak that extends from its tail to just behind its head. As early as a hundred years ago, Australians harvested the glassy sprat in large quantities and it featured on the table as food for a long time. Due to its poor appearance, it is not a very good ornamental fish.
The northern whiting, also known as the silver whiting and sand smelt, is a marine fish, the most widespread and abundant member of the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The northern whiting was the first species of sillaginid scientifically described and is therefore the type species of both the family Sillaginidae and the genus Sillago. The species is distributed in the Indo-Pacific region from South Africa in the west to Japan and Indonesia in the east. The northern whiting inhabits coastal areas to 60 m, but is most often found in shallow water around bays and estuaries, often entering freshwater. It is a carnivore, taking a variety of polychaetes and crustaceans. The species is of major economic importance throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is most frequently taken by seine nets and cast nets and marketed fresh.
The topsmelt silverside, also known as the topsmelt, is a species of Neotropical silverside native to the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The rainwater killifish is a small silvery fish with yellow flashes and diamond shaped scales that is widespread from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, through to Tampico, Mexico. It is commonly found in large numbers in fresh to brackish estuarine environments. It feeds on tiny crustaceans, mosquito larvae, small worms, and mollusks. It can reach up to 62 mm.
The Japanese sea bass is a species of catadromous marine ray-finned fish from the Asian sea bass family Lateolabracidae which is found in the Western Pacific.
The Atlantic flyingfish is a flying fish in the family Exocoetidae. The flyingfish fauna is made up of 16 total species, 6 of which belong to the genus Cheilopogon, including C. melanurus. The Atlantic flyingfish is also in the order Beloniformes and class Actinopterygii. It was first described by the French zoologist, Achille Valenciennes in a 22-volume work entitled Histoire naturelle des poissons, which was a collaboration with fellow zoologist Georges Cuvier.
Anchoa hepsetus, commonly known as the broad-striped anchovy, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Engraulidae. It grows to be about 15 cm (6 in) long. The broad-striped anchovy is found in the west Atlantic along the North American coast from Nova Scotia and the Maine coast scarcely, and abundantly from the Chesapeake bay to the West Indies and Uruguay. It is found most commonly in shoals along coastal waters, as deep as 73 m although mostly found in water shallower than this. The broad-striped anchovy spawns in spring. Their eggs are pelagic and hatch within 48 hours at regular spring temperatures. At young ages, it eats copepods, but as the fish ages, its diet begins to consist of other small crustaceans, molluscs, and worm larvae. It is an important food staple for large commercial fishes, such as the American seatrout. It is commonly eaten by birds. It is elongate with large eyes and protuberant snout, large mouth and underslung jaw. Its anal fin is quite short, and its front fin lies beneath the end of the dorsal fin. It is grey-green with black dots, but its notable feature is its silvery stripe from head to tail.
Merluccius merluccius or the European hake is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius. Other vernacular names include Cornish salmon and herring hake. It is a predatory species, which was often netted alongside one of its favoured prey, the Atlantic herring, hence the latter common name. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from Norway and Iceland south to Mauritania and into the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important species in European fisheries and is heavily exploited, with some populations being fished unsustainably.
Ichthyoplankton are the eggs and larvae of fish. They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which is sometimes called the epipelagic or photic zone. Ichthyoplankton are planktonic, meaning they cannot swim effectively under their own power, but must drift with the ocean currents. Fish eggs cannot swim at all, and are unambiguously planktonic. Early stage larvae swim poorly, but later stage larvae swim better and cease to be planktonic as they grow into juveniles. Fish larvae are part of the zooplankton that eat smaller plankton, while fish eggs carry their own food supply. Both eggs and larvae are themselves eaten by larger animals.
The Californian anchovy or northern anchovy is a species of anchovy found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from Mexico to British Columbia. It is a small, Clupeoid fish with a large mouth and a long, laterally compressed body, which strongly resembles the European Anchovy with only slight differences in girth and fin position. They have a euryhaline lifestyle defined by regular migrations between bays and open ocean for both spawning and foraging. Like Pacific sardines, they compose a large fraction of the marine biomass in waters off the west coast of North America, where they are a vital keystone species in coastal pelagic waters. However, they are subject to seasonal boom & bust cycles that are chiefly caused by changes in water temperature and food availability; regularly switching places as the forage fish of prominence with the sardine during years defined by colder water temperatures, which makes them vulnerable to climate change. They have a small commercial fishery; mainly used as bait for fishermen or fish meal, with a dedicated small following as a food fish in San Francisco.
Ammodytes americanus, also known as American sand lance, American sand eel, and sand launce, is a small fish in the family Ammodytidae. First described by James Ellsworth De Kay in 1842, it is widespread in the western North Atlantic. The fish typically travel in large schools, spending most of their time relatively near the water surface. It feeds primarily on plankton, though it is known to take small clams and snails from the sea floor, presumably when plankton is scarce. Towards dusk, schools of A. americanus bury themselves in course sand, typically from 1 to 6 in below the sand's surface close to the water's edge; they avoid rocky areas. They do this to avoid being detected by night-hunting species such as bluefish and stripers.
