Coasts and shelves
Shallow seas over the continental shelf. 294 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
WorldQueen triggerfish
Large, colourful reef fish of the tropical Atlantic.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldBlue-spotted grouper
A widely distributed Indo-Pacific grouper known for its blue spots and invasive impact in Hawaii.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldBluehead wrasse
A small Atlantic reef fish known for changing sex and colour.Other · Coral reefs
WorldClown triggerfish
A striking black and white reef fish with a locking dorsal spine.Other · Coral reefs · 1801
WorldOriental sweetlips
Striped reef fish with swollen lips found in the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldSeahorse
Small marine fish with horse-like heads and curled tails in the genus Hippocampus.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldLeaf scorpionfish
A small reef fish that mimics a drifting leaf to ambush prey.Other · Coral reefs · 1802
OceaniaMaroon clownfish
Large, aggressive anemonefish with a distinctive cheek spine.Other · Coral reefs
WorldMandarinfish
A small, brightly coloured Pacific fish kept in saltwater aquariums.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1927
WorldYellow prawn-goby
A small, colourful goby that shares burrows with shrimps.Other · Coasts and shelves
OceaniaPajama Cardinalfish
Small, spotted reef fish known for male mouthbrooding.Other · Coral reefs
WorldAnglerfish
Ray-finned fish using a modified dorsal fin ray as a lure to catch prey.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1829
South AsiaGreen spotted puffer
Small brackish water pufferfish with a tiny genomeOther · Rivers and lakes
WorldWrasse
A large family of colourful marine fish known for sex change and cleaning symbiosis.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldBoxfish
Armoured fish with a box-like body and toxic skin secretions.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1810
Southeast AsiaPygmy seahorse
Tiny seahorses with unique brooding and camouflage traits found in Southeast Asian reefs.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇦🇺 AustraliaLeafy seadragon
A marine fish from southern Australia known for its leaf-like skin appendages used for camouflage.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1865
🇦🇺 AustraliaCommon seadragon
Camouflaged marine fish with leaf-like appendages found in southern Australia.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldLongfin batfish
A silver marine fish with elongated juvenile fins found across the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldOrnate ghost pipefish
A camouflaged reef fish with variable colours and female brood pouches.Other · Coral reefs
WorldOrbicular batfish
A round, silvery marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreReef stonefish
A highly venomous marine fish known for its rock-like camouflage and potent toxins.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1801
🇺🇸 United StatesSpotted ratfish
Cartilaginous fish with a rat-like tail and venomous spineOther · Coasts and shelves
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Queen triggerfish: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Blue-spotted grouper: Jan Ebr, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bluehead wrasse: (c) JamesLaFontaine, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, source
- Clown triggerfish: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Oriental sweetlips: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seahorse: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Leaf scorpionfish: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maroon clownfish: Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mandarinfish: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yellow prawn-goby: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pajama Cardinalfish: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anglerfish: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Green spotted puffer: Starseed, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Wrasse: Leonard Low, CC BY 2.0, source
- Boxfish: Bernd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pygmy seahorse: Jens Petersen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Leafy seadragon: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ); derivative edit by Papa, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Common seadragon: Richard Ling <wikipedia@rling.com> --> Rling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Longfin batfish: portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ornate ghost pipefish: Nhobgood Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Orbicular batfish: Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reef stonefish: Karelj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chimaeras: Linda Snook / MBNMS, Public domain, source