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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature:  Marine Fish


California is a large state, the 3rd largest in the U.S.A., and depending on where you go, can range broadly in habitat type and, also, climate. For this reason, California plays host to a huge variety of fish.

Fishes are aquatic vertebrates that have fins, gills and scales. Gills are the part of the respiratory system that provide surface area for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide under water. Fish are ectotherms, commonly referred to as 'cold-blooded', meaning their temperature is regulated by the temperature of their environment. They have a range of diets, being herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. Some fish reproduce by laying eggs, while others reproduce by bearing live young.

California fish species reside in freshwater and coastal/marine waters. Coastal, or marine fish are an abundant and valuable resource. However, the ocean's supply is not limitless, and therefore careful planning and education must be undertaken to ensure the sustainability of the world's largest food source.
A wide variety of marine fish can be found off the coast of California California designates the garibaldi as the official state marine fish. The garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) is found in shallow waters off the Southern California coast and Mexico. When disturbed garibaldi emit a thumping sound which can be heard by divers. The garibaldi is the largest of the damselfish family; adults typically reaching 14 inches. Males build the nests, the female enters several of them and then makes her decision. The garibaldi is one of the few fish to use the same nesting site every year.

Way back in 1971, the California Department of Fish and Game recommended that the garibaldi be fully protected and not taken for sport or commercial purposes because of relatively limited stocks, poor acceptance as food, and high aesthetic value. The garibaldi's aesthetic value, highlighted by its brilliant orange color, eclipsed its value as a food source. Not much came of this recommendation. Then the saltwater aquarium industry targeted the garibaldi because of it bright color and relative ease of capture. Legislation was passed in 1993 that was designed to protect the garibaldi from overharvesting.
Marine fish spend their entire life in salt water. Anadromous fish are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to grow into adults, and then return to fresh water to spawn. By associating different habitats with different stages of life, anadromous fish are able to balance salt concentrations between their bodies and their surrounding.

Yellowfin tuna are found throughout the tropical Pacific. The world's single largest biomass of yellowfin inhabits the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP), ranging from Chile to southern California. Tagging studies indicate that the ETP stock is a single population, with seasonal coastal migrations but no large-scale movement to the central or western Pacific. In the daytime, mature yellowfin associate with dolphins to some degree in all the world oceans. However, the relationship with dolphins is well-developed in the eastern Pacific. ETP tuna stocks have been regulated by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission since 1966.
marine fish like the giant seabass are often protected by California nature Contrary to freshwater fish and saltwater fish, anadromous fish migrate between marine and freshwater. Many of these fish, such as salmon, reproduce in freshwater but spend the majority of their adult lives at sea.

Rockfish belong to the family Scorpaenidae, or scorpionfishes. One of the most important fish families in California waters, the rockfish group encompasses 59 species, most of them desirable at market. State law allows 13 species to be called Pacific red snapper. These include widow, bocaccio, chilipepper, vermilion, yellowtail, black, and olive rockfish, to name several. However, none of these fish is a true red snapper, which is an Atlantic species not found on the West Coast. Many rockfish species range from Baja California to British Columbia, and some extend to Alaska. Adults of most species are found at depths to 1,200 feet. Rockfish are basically non-migratory fish. Recognized by the sharp spines on their dorsal fins, rockfish vary in length from 20" to 37" and may weigh up to 30 pounds.
California halibut, bottom-dwelling flatfish are yearlong residents in sand and mud-bottomed coastal waters, found from the surf zone to about 300 feet deep, from Washington State to Baja California. The area of greatest abundance is southern California and northern Baja. California halibut, with a maximum length of 60 inches and weight to 72 pounds, are smaller than Pacific halibut. California halibut are ambush predators with both eyes usually located on the left side of the head, California halibut are non-schooling, unpredictable, elusive fish, and the "bread and butter" fish of California's nearshore groundfish fishery.

California barracuda are nearshore, epipelagic, schooling fish found from Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, to Kodiak Island, Alaska. Thin and toothy, an axe handle with jaws, Pacific barracuda are smaller than their Atlantic relatives, and undeserving of the fierce image conjured by their name. However, the California variety is a fighting fish on a sportsman's line. Barracuda became a popular game fish after World War II. The catch has historically centered in southern California and northern Baja.
Blacksmith    Bonito    California Barracuda    California Garibaldi    California Lizardfish    California Scorpionfish
California Sheephead     Flounder    Giant Kelpfish    Lingcod    Mahi Mahi     Marlin     Ocean Sunfish     Rockfish
    Sailfish    Sea Bass      Sharks     Stingray     Treefish     Yellowfin     Yellowtail     Wahoo
 
 
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