The European sprat, also known as bristling, brisling, garvie, garvock, Russian sardine, russlet, skipper or whitebait, is a species of small marine fish in the herring family Clupeidae. Found in European waters, it has silver grey scales and white-grey flesh. Specific seas in which the species occurs include the Irish Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Sea of the Hebrides. The fish is the subject of fisheries, particularly in Scandinavia, and is made into fish meal, as well as being used for human consumption. When used for food it can be canned, salted, breaded, fried, boiled, grilled, baked, deep fried, marinated, broiled, and smoked.
The hogchoker is a small species of flatfish found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North and South America, ranging from Massachusetts to Venezuela. They prefer brackish water, and are abundant in many bays and estuaries north of the Carolinas. It is a member of the American sole family Achiridae. They are usually brown to dark brown in color, and lighter on their "blind side". The overall body color is often broken by a series of spots and thin stripes, which can be lighter or darker than the main body color. The fins and tail have fringed edges helping hide the fish from its prey. They mainly feed on small aquatic insects and invertebrates. They get their common name because East Coast fishermen would feed these so-called "trash" fish to their hogs, after which the fish would bow its body into a suction cup and stick to the soft palate of the hog, rather like peanut butter in a dog’s mouth.
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
The common dab is an edible flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish native to shallow seas around Northern Europe, in particular the North Sea, where it lives on sandy bottoms down to depths of about 100 metres (330 ft). It can reach 40 centimetres (16 in) in length and can weigh up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), though most specimens grow no longer than 20 centimetres (7.9 in).
The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as to the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.
The lemon sole is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to shallow seas around Northern Europe, where it lives on stony bottoms down to depths of about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft). It grows up to 65 centimetres (26 in) in length and reaches about 19 kilograms (42 lb) in weight.
The Australian sawtail catshark is a common species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southern Australian waters. It is found on or near the bottom of the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, at depths of 85 to 823 m. This slim-bodied species is characterized by crests of enlarged dermal denticles along both the dorsal and ventral edges of its caudal fin and caudal peduncle, along with a color pattern of broad, dark saddles outlined in white. It can grow to 61 cm (24 in) in length. The Australian sawtail catshark feeds mainly on fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Females are oviparous and lay eggs enclosed by capsules. This species is often caught incidentally by commercial bottom trawl fisheries, but is not significantly threatened by fishing activity. Thus, it has been assessed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The witch, known in English by a variety of other common names including the witch flounder, pole flounder, craig fluke, Torbay sole, and grey sole, is a species of flatfish from the family Pleuronectidae. It occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean on muddy sea beds in quite deep water. In northern Europe it has some importance in fisheries as a food fish.
Epinephelus marginatus, the dusky grouper, yellowbelly rock cod or yellowbelly grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. This species is the best known grouper species of the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa coast.
The red grouper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
The red porgy, or common seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in shallow waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, being present on the western coast of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea as well as the eastern coasts of North and South America and the Caribbean Sea. It feeds on or near the seabed and most individuals start life as females and later change sex to males.
Nemipterus virgatus, the golden threadfin bream or yellowlipped threadfin bream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Nemipteridae, the threadfin breams. This species is found in the Western Pacific Ocean.
The smalleye stingray is a large species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, measuring up to 2.2 m (7.2 ft) across. Rare but widely distributed, it is found in the Indo-Pacific from Mozambique to India to northern Australia. This species may be semi-pelagic in nature, inhabiting both deeper waters and shallow coastal reefs and estuaries. It is characterized by a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc much wider than long, a tail that is broad and flattened in front of the spine but whip-like behind, and large white spots over its back.
The blackedge whipray is a little-known species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in the coastal waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar. Attaining a disc width of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), this species has a diamond-shaped disc with two small concavities on either side of the snout tip, and a long, whip-like tail without tail folds. It is characterized by large thorns with star-shaped bases scattered over the disc, and by the wide, black marginal bands on the underside of the disc. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lacks sufficient data to assess the blackedge whipray beyond Data Deficient.
The yellowfin sole is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that lives on soft, sandy bottoms at depths of up to 700 metres (2,300 ft), though it is most commonly found at depths of around 91 metres (299 ft). Its native habitat is the temperate waters of the northern Pacific, from Korea and the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and Barkley Sound on the west coast of Canada. Males grow up to 49 cm (19 in) in length, though the common length is around 33.5 cm (13.2 in). The maximum recorded weight is 1.7 kg (3.7 lb), and the maximum recorded lifespan is 26 years.
The whitespotted grouper, also known as the rankin cod, ocellated rockcod, small-spotted cod, white-spotted reef-cod or whitespotted rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution. It is closely related to two other species of white spotted groupers in the genus Epinephelus.
Dagetichthys lusitanicus, commonly known as the Portuguese sole, is a species of flatfish native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Little is known of the abundance or behaviour of this fish, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "data deficient".
Microchirus azevia, commonly known as the bastard sole, is a species of flatfish in the family Soleidae. It is found on the continental slope of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea at depths down to about 250 m (800 ft).
Lutjanus endecacanthus, the Guinea snapper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found on the west coast of Africa in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Lepidotrigla spiloptera, the spotwing gurnard, spotfin gurnard or red-fringed gurnard, is a species of marine, demersal ray-finned fish from the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution.
