Coasts and shelves
Shallow seas over the continental shelf. 297 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
WorldSailfish
Fastest marine fish with a large dorsal fin.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldWhite marlin
A fast-swimming billfish of the Atlantic Ocean.Other · Open ocean · 1860
WorldBlue-spotted grouper
A widely distributed Indo-Pacific grouper known for its blue spots and invasive impact in Hawaii.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar
Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇦🇷 Argentina and 4 moreArgentinian silverside
A large, adaptable silverside native to South America.Other · Rivers and lakes
WorldBigeye trevally
A large marine fish found in tropical oceans, known for its nocturnal hunting and distinctive dark dorsal fin.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1825
WorldYellowstripe goatfish
A small Indo-Pacific reef fish with yellow fins and shrimp-like taste.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldGreat barracuda
Large predatory fish found in warm oceans worldwide.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldRoundscale spearfish
Atlantic billfish often mistaken for white marlinOther · Open ocean · 1841
WorldStriped marlin
Fast pelagic predator with blue stripesOther · Open ocean
🇺🇸 United StatesSpotted seatrout
Estuarine drum fish of the US southeast coastOther · Estuaries and mangroves
North AmericaAtlantic croaker
Noisy marine fish of the western Atlantic coastOther · Coasts and shelves
WorldBluefish
Aggressive marine pelagic fish found in temperate and subtropical waters worldwide.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United StatesFlorida pompano
A fast-growing marine fish prized for food and sport fishing.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreYellowtail amberjack
Large pelagic fish of the Southern Hemisphere oceansOther · Coasts and shelves · 1833
WorldGreater amberjack
Large predatory jack found in warm seas worldwide.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1810
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLingcod
A large predatory fish of the North American Pacific coast.Other · Coasts and shelves
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sailfish: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / C, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- White marlin: dominic sherony, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Blue-spotted grouper: Jan Ebr, CC BY 4.0, source
- Gar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Argentinian silverside: CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bigeye trevally: Jens Petersen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Yellowstripe goatfish: Dr. Dwayne Meadows, NOAA/NMFS/OPR, Public domain, source
- Great barracuda: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pompano: H. L. Todd, Public domain, source
- Striped marlin: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Spotted seatrout: United States Fish Commission, Public domain, source
- Atlantic croaker: Carvalho-Souza, Gómez & González-Ortegón (2024), CC BY 4.0, source
- Bluefish: SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEF, Public domain, source
- Yellowtail amberjack: Nholtzha, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Greater amberjack: NOAA Photo Library, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lingcod: Will Sides, CC BY 4.0, source