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SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Coasts and shelves

Shallow seas over the continental shelf. 26 fish on EveryFish so far.

The continental shelf is the shallow sea bed that fringes the continents, usually less than about 200 metres deep. It covers under a tenth of the ocean, but sunlight and nutrients from rivers and upwelling make it very productive, and most of the world's sea catch comes from it. Coastal seas hold schools of sardines and mackerel near the surface and cod, croakers and flatfish near the bottom.

India's coastal fisheries

India has a long coastline, remeasured in 2024 at more than 11,000 km, and most of its sea catch comes from the shelf. Oil sardine and mackerel dominate on the south-west coast, Bombay duck, pomfret and ribbonfish in the north-west, and hilsa, croakers and prawns in the Bay of Bengal. Small-scale fishers work close to shore, while trawlers and purse seiners fish further out. Mechanised fishing stops for 61 days each year during the monsoon breeding season.

Pressure on the shelf

Because shelf seas are close to land and easy to reach, they are heavily fished. Bottom trawling catches many young fish and disturbs the sea bed. Pollution from rivers, coastal building and the loss of mangroves and sea grass affect nurseries. In many seas, catches have shifted from large, valuable fish to smaller ones as the larger fish have been fished out. Marine protected areas and closed seasons are the main tools used to rebuild stocks.

Still to be written: Indian mackerel, Indian oil sardine, Bombay duck, Pampus argenteus, Largehead hairtail, Atlantic cod, European plaice, Atlantic herring.

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSea lamprey A jawless, parasitic fish native to the Northern Hemisphere that attacks other fish.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAtlantic sturgeon A large anadromous fish native to the western Atlantic Ocean and its river systems.Ancient · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreShortnose sturgeon A small, endangered North American sturgeon with a short snout.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1818 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758 WorldLamprey Jawless fish with a sucking mouth found in temperate waters worldwide.Ancient · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesCladoselache Extinct Late Devonian shark-like fish known for well-preserved fossils and streamlined body.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇿🇦 South Africa and 1 moreCoelacanth Ancient lobe-finned fish thought extinct until rediscovered in the twentieth century.Ancient · Coasts and shelves · 1839 🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreSiberian sturgeon Large freshwater sturgeon native to Siberian riversAncient · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇴 Bolivia and 3 moreSacabambaspis Extinct armored jawless fish from the Ordovician period of Gondwana.Ancient · Coasts and shelves · 1986 🇺🇸 United States and 1 morePacific lamprey An anadromous parasitic jawless fish found along the Pacific Rim.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1872

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.