News
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. 275 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
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreEstuarine stonefish A venomous marine ray-finned fish found in the Indo-Pacific region.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1766 WorldPelagic thresher The smallest thresher shark, found in tropical oceans and known for its whip-like tail.Shark · Open ocean · 1935 WorldWhitetip reef shark Small Indo-Pacific reef shark with white-tipped finsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldSalmon shark A warm-blooded mackerel shark of the northern PacificShark · Coasts and shelves WorldMilk shark A small coastal requiem shark found in tropical waters worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldCommon thresher The largest thresher shark, known for its whip-like tail used to stun prey in cool coastal and open waters.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1788 WorldPorbeagle A fast, cold-water mackerel shark found in the Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1788 WorldBasking shark The second-largest living fish, a slow-moving filter feeder found in temperate oceans worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1765 WorldSilky shark A fast, migratory requiem shark found in tropical oceans worldwide.Shark · Open ocean · 1839 WorldSchool shark A temperate houndshark valued for liver oil and meat.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldSkate Cartilaginous fish with flat bodies and egg cases, found on sea floors worldwide.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreWobbegong Camouflaged bottom-dwelling sharks found in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldHammerhead shark Sharks with T-shaped heads for better vision and sensing prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldCommon guitarfish A critically endangered cartilaginous fish native to the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldAngelshark Flat-bodied sharks that bury themselves in sandy seabeds to ambush prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldBroadnose sevengill shark A large coastal shark with seven gill slits and spotted skin.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 3 morePacific angelshark A flat-bodied ambush shark of the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1859 WorldSpinner shark A fast requiem shark known for spinning leaps out of water.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreCaribbean reef shark Large requiem shark of western Atlantic coral reefsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1876 WorldPigeye shark A robust coastal requiem shark often confused with the bull shark.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 WorldKitefin shark A deep-sea squaliform shark known for its bioluminescence and large oil-filled liver.Shark · Deep sea · 1788 🇦🇺 AustraliaLongnose sawshark A slender Australian shark with a long, toothed snout.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreWhitespotted bamboo shark A small, bottom-dwelling carpet shark with purple and pink spots, common in Asian coral reefs.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldBrownbanded bamboo shark Small, docile reef shark suited for captivityShark · Coral reefs 🇦🇺 AustraliaGummy shark A bottom-dwelling shark from southern Australia known for its crushing teeth and commercial fillets.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreLeopard shark A coastal Pacific houndshark with black saddle markings and spots.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1854 WorldGreenland shark A large, slow-moving sleeper shark with the longest lifespan of any vertebrate.Shark · Deep sea WorldSpiny dogfish A temperate shark with dorsal spines and a long lifespan, heavily fished for food.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldSmall-spotted catshark A common shallow-water shark found across the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean.Shark · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorn shark Small spotted bullhead shark from the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1855 🇦🇺 AustraliaSpotted wobbegong A camouflaged carpet shark native to Australian coastal waters.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1778 WorldBigeye thresher Deep-diving shark with huge eyes and a long tail.Shark · Open ocean · 1840 WorldGalapagos shark Large requiem shark of tropical oceanic islandsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1905 WorldGreat hammerhead The largest hammerhead shark, known for its wide cephalofoil and critically endangered status.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldLongfin mako shark A rare, deep-water mackerel shark with long pectoral finsShark · Open ocean · 1966 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreBonnethead A small hammerhead shark with a spade-shaped head and omnivorous diet.Shark · Coasts and shelves South AsiaWinghead shark A small hammerhead with an exceptionally wide cephalofoil.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1822 WorldSmooth hammerhead Temperate hammerhead shark with a curved head marginShark · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldBlacktip reef shark Small coral reef shark with distinct black fin tipsShark · Coasts and shelves · 1824 WorldBlue shark A slender, deep-blue oceanic shark found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.Shark · Open ocean 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreNurse shark A bottom-dwelling shark found in tropical coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific.Shark · Coasts and shelves WorldBlacktip shark A coastal requiem shark known for spinning leaps and black-tipped fins.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1839 WorldLemon shark A social, yellow-skinned requiem shark of shallow tropical waters.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1868 WorldSicklefin lemon shark Large Indo-Pacific requiem shark with sickle-shaped fins.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837 WorldTawny nurse shark A large Indo-Pacific carpet shark known for octopus hunting and spitting water.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1831

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.