List of fishes of the Salish Sea facts for kids

The Salish Sea, showing the Strait of Georgia near centre, the Strait of Juan de Fuca below, Puget Sound at the lower right, Johnstone Strait at the extreme upper left, and the Pacific Ocean at lower left. Sediment from the Fraser River is visible as a greenish plume in the Strait of Georgia.

The Salish Sea is a huge and amazing body of water located off the coast of North America, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the state of Washington, USA. It includes famous areas like the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound. This special place is home to at least 253 different kinds of fish! These fish live in both the salty ocean water and the slightly less salty brackish water where rivers meet the sea. Let's explore some of the cool fish you can find here.

Welcome to the Salish Sea!

The Salish Sea is like a giant underwater city, bustling with life. From tiny, shimmering herring to massive sharks, each fish plays an important role in this busy ecosystem. Many of these fish are vital for the health of the ocean and for other animals, like seals, orcas, and sea birds, that depend on them for food.

Amazing Sharks and Rays

The Salish Sea is home to many fascinating sharks and rays. These ancient fish have been swimming in our oceans for millions of years!

Hagfish and Lampreys

Some of the oldest fish types are found here. Pacific hagfish are eel-like creatures that live on the seafloor. They are known for producing a lot of slime when threatened! Pacific lamprey and Western river lamprey are also ancient fish that look a bit like eels. They have unique, round mouths.

Different Kinds of Sharks

You might be surprised by the variety of sharks in the Salish Sea!

• The Spotted ratfish is a unique shark relative with a long, pointed nose and big green eyes.
• The Common thresher shark is famous for its long, whip-like tail, which it uses to stun fish.
• The huge Basking shark is the second-largest fish in the world! It swims slowly with its mouth open, filtering tiny plankton from the water.
• The Salmon shark is a powerful hunter, often found chasing salmon.
• Yes, even the mighty Great white shark has been spotted here, though it's quite rare.
• Smaller sharks include the Brown catshark and the Leopard shark, which has cool spots like a leopard.
• The Blue shark is a sleek, fast swimmer of the open ocean.
• The Bluntnose sixgill shark and Broadnose sevengill shark are deep-water sharks with more gill slits than most sharks.
• The Pacific spiny dogfish is a common small shark with spines near its fins.
• The Pacific sleeper shark is a large, slow-moving shark that lives in deep, cold waters.
• The Pacific angelshark looks like a flat ray but is actually a shark that hides on the seafloor.

Rays and Skates

Rays and skates are flat-bodied fish related to sharks.

• The Pacific electric ray can produce an electric shock to defend itself or catch prey.
• Various types of skates, like the Big skate, Longnose skate, Bering skate, Sandpaper skate, and California skate, glide gracefully along the bottom. They have flattened bodies and long, whip-like tails.

Unique Fish of the Salish Sea

Beyond sharks and rays, many other interesting fish call the Salish Sea home.

Sturgeons: Ancient Giants

White Sturgeon

Sturgeon are some of the largest and longest-living fish. The Green sturgeon and White sturgeon are found here. White sturgeon can grow to be incredibly huge, sometimes over 20 feet long and living for over 100 years! They are truly living fossils.

Eels and Smelts

• The Slender snipe eel is a thin, deep-sea eel.
• Northern anchovy, Pacific herring, and Pacific sardine are small, silvery fish that swim in huge schools. They are a super important food source for many other animals.
• The Common carp is a freshwater fish that can sometimes be found in the brackish parts of the Salish Sea.
• Smelts are small, oily fish that are also important prey. This includes the Whitebait smelt, Surf smelt, Capelin, Night smelt, Longfin smelt, and Eulachon.

Salmon and Trout: Pacific Icons

Coastal cutthroat trout

The Salish Sea is famous for its salmon and trout. These fish are incredibly important to the region's culture and wildlife. Many of them are anadromous, meaning they are born in freshwater, live most of their lives in the ocean, and then return to freshwater to lay their eggs.

• The Pacific salmon species found here include Pink salmon, Chum salmon, Coho salmon, Sockeye salmon, and Chinook salmon. Each has its own unique life cycle and appearance.
• Steelhead are the ocean-going form of rainbow trout.
• Other trout species include the Cutthroat trout, Bull trout, and Dolly Varden.
• You might even find the non-native Atlantic salmon here, which have escaped from fish farms.

Deep-Sea Dwellers

Some fish prefer the deeper, darker parts of the Salish Sea.

• Dragonfishes like the Lowcrest hatchetfish and Pacific viperfish have strange shapes and often produce their own light.
• California lizardfish and Longnose lancetfish are predators with sharp teeth.
• Barracudinas like the White barracudina are slender, fast swimmers.
• Lanternfishes are small, deep-sea fish that glow in the dark, including the California headlightfish and Northern lampfish.
• The Opah is a beautiful, colorful, disc-shaped fish that lives in the open ocean.
• Ribbonfishes like the King-of-the-salmon are long, thin fish that swim with a wavy motion.

Cods and Hakes

• The Pacific hake is a common fish that lives near the bottom.
• Cods are well-known fish, and the Salish Sea has the Walleye pollock, Pacific cod, and Pacific tomcod. These are important food fish for many animals and people.

Other Interesting Swimmers

• The Red brotula and Spotted cusk-eel are eel-like fish that live on the seafloor.
• The Plainfin midshipman is famous for being able to "sing" or hum using its swim bladder.
• The Pacific saury is a schooling fish that lives near the surface.
• The Sheepshead minnow is a small fish found in shallow, warm waters.

Fish of the Seafloor and Reefs

Many fish in the Salish Sea live close to the bottom, hiding among rocks or in kelp forests.

Sticklebacks and Pipefishes

• The Tubesnout is a long, slender fish that looks a bit like a pipefish.
• The Threespine stickleback is a small fish known for its sharp spines and for the male building a nest for eggs.
• The Bay pipefish is a long, thin fish that blends in with seagrass. It's related to seahorses!

Rockfishes and Scorpionfishes

Tiger rockfish

Rockfish are a very diverse group of fish that live among rocks and reefs. They come in many colors and sizes. Some common ones include:

• Rougheye rockfish
• Pacific ocean perch
• Brown rockfish
• Redbanded rockfish
• Silvergray rockfish
• Copper rockfish
• Widow rockfish
• Yellowtail rockfish
• Quillback rockfish
• Black rockfish
• Vermilion rockfish
• Blue rockfish
• China rockfish
• Tiger rockfish
• Bocaccio rockfish
• Canary rockfish
• Yelloweye rockfish (a very long-lived species)
• The Shortspine thornyhead is another spiny fish found in deeper waters.

Sablefish and Greenlings

Sablefish

• The Sablefish is a deep-water fish known for its rich, oily meat.
• Greenlings are colorful fish that live among kelp and rocks. They include the Kelp greenling, Rock greenling, Whitespotted greenling, Lingcod (a large predator), and Painted greenling.
• The Longspine combfish is a unique greenling with a long, spiny dorsal fin.

Sculpins: Masters of Camouflage

Longfin sculpin

Fluffy sculpin

Sculpins are a huge group of bottom-dwelling fish, often with spiny heads and excellent camouflage. They come in many shapes and sizes:

• The Grunt sculpin is a small, colorful fish that often hides in empty shells.
• Common sculpins include the Padded sculpin, Scalyhead sculpin, Smoothhead sculpin, Coastrange sculpin, Prickly sculpin, Buffalo sculpin, Red Irish lord, Pacific staghorn sculpin, Great sculpin, Tidepool sculpin, Fluffy sculpin, and Cabezon (a very large sculpin).
• The Sailfin sculpin has a tall, sail-like dorsal fin.
• The Silverspotted sculpin is another colorful sculpin.

Poachers and Snailfishes

Fourhorn poacher

• Poachers are small, armored fish that look like miniature dragons, such as the Northern spearnose poacher and Fourhorn poacher.
• Snailfishes are soft-bodied fish that live in cold waters, often at great depths. Examples include the Spotted snailfish, Ribbon snailfish, and Showy snailfish.

Perches and Flatfishes

The Salish Sea also has many types of perches and flatfishes.

Perches

• The Striped bass is a popular sport fish.
• The Pacific jack mackerel and Pacific pomfret are open-ocean fish.
• Drums and croakers like the White seabass, White croaker, and Queenfish are known for making sounds.
• Surfperches are common fish found in shallow waters, including the Kelp perch, Shiner perch, Pile perch, Striped seaperch, and Silver surfperch.
• The Northern ronquil is a slender fish that lives on rocky bottoms.
• Eelpouts are long, slender fish that live on the seafloor, like the Pallid eelpout and Blackbelly eelpout.
• Pricklebacks and Gunnels are eel-like fish that hide among rocks and seaweed, such as the Slender cockscomb, Decorated warbonnet, Snake prickleback, Penpoint gunnel, and Crescent gunnel.
• The Wolf eel is a large, fierce-looking but generally shy fish that lives in rocky crevices.
• The Quillfish and Prowfish are unusual, deep-water fish.
• The Graveldiver is a small fish that buries itself in sand.
• The Pacific sandfish is a small, silvery fish that burrows into the sand.
• The Pacific sand lance is a small, schooling fish that buries itself in sand.
• The Ragfish is a soft-bodied, deep-sea fish.
• The Northern clingfish has a special suction cup on its belly to cling to rocks.
• Gobies are small, bottom-dwelling fish, like the Arrow goby and Blackeye goby.
• The Pacific barracuda is a fast, predatory fish.
• The North Pacific frostfish is a deep-sea fish.
• Mackerels like the Pacific bonito and Pacific chub mackerel are fast-swimming predators.
• The Pacific pompano is a small, silvery fish.

Flatfishes: Masters of Disguise

Rock sole

Flatfishes are amazing! They start life swimming upright like other fish, but then one eye moves to the other side of their head, and they flatten out to live on the seafloor. They are masters of camouflage.

• Sanddabs like the Pacific sanddab and Speckled sanddab are small flatfishes.
• Flounders and soles are common flatfishes. This includes the Arrowtooth flounder, Petrale sole, Rex sole, Flathead sole, Pacific halibut (the largest flatfish), Butter sole, Rock sole, English sole, Starry flounder, C-O sole, Curlfin sole, and Sand sole.
• The California tonguefish is a small, tongue-shaped flatfish.

Ocean Sunfish

• The Ocean sunfish is the heaviest bony fish in the world! It's a huge, strange-looking fish that often floats near the surface. It's a rare but exciting sight in the Salish Sea.