Coasts and shelves
Shallow seas over the continental shelf. 146 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
WorldRegal blue tang
Bright blue reef fish with a yellow tail and black markings.Reef fish · Coral reefs
WorldSix-line wrasse
Small violet reef fish with six orange stripesReef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1857
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreFrench angelfish
A slow-growing Caribbean reef fish known for its sponge diet.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1799
WorldBluespotted cornetfish
Long, slender reef fish with a tubular snout and blue spots.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldGiant grouper
A massive Indo-Pacific reef fish and one of the largest bony species on Earth.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1790
🇦🇺 Australia and 4 moreLeopard coral grouper
A spotted reef predator prized for food across the Pacific.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves · 1802
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 4 moreHumphead wrasse
The largest reef-dwelling wrasse, known for its forehead hump and endangered status.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1801
WorldGreen humphead parrotfish
The largest parrotfish species, known for its massive head and role in reef bioerosion.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
🇮🇩 IndonesiaBanggai cardinalfish
A small, endangered marine fish from Indonesia known for its unique breeding habits and popularity in the aquarium tradeReef fish · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRainbow parrotfish
Largest Atlantic parrotfish found on coral reefs and in mangroves.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldQueen parrotfish
A colourful reef fish that turns coral into sandReef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldConvict tang
Striped marine surgeonfish found across the Indo-Pacific.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldParrotfish
Reef-dwelling wrasses with beak-like teeth that grind coral into sand.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldWrasse
A large family of colourful marine fish known for sex change and cleaning symbiosis.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldDamselfish
Small marine fish known for aggressive territorial behaviour and reef farming.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldTriggerfish
Armoured reef fish with a locking dorsal spineReef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1810
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreRed lionfish
Venomous coral reef fish native to the Indo-Pacific and invasive in the Atlantic.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1758
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Regal blue tang: Tewy, CC BY 2.5, source
- Six-line wrasse: Lonnie Huffman, CC BY 3.0, source
- French angelfish: LASZLO ILYES (laszlo-photo), CC BY 2.0, source
- Bluespotted cornetfish: Matthias Kleine --> Mkleine, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Giant grouper: Ginkgo100, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Leopard coral grouper: portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Humphead wrasse: R Vasconcellos, CC BY 4.0, source
- Green humphead parrotfish: Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0, source
- Banggai cardinalfish: jon hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rainbow parrotfish: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, CC BY 2.0, source
- Queen parrotfish: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lagoon triggerfish: Arpingstone, Public domain, source
- Convict tang: brian.gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Parrotfish: Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0, source
- Wrasse: Leonard Low, CC BY 2.0, source
- Damselfish: Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Red lionfish: Photo by Jens Petersen , Edited by User:Olegiwit (cloned in part of fi, CC BY 2.5, source