Some estimates report the world’s oceans are home to 20,000 species of fish. Ocean fishes come in all shapes, sizes, colors and live in drastically different depths and temperatures. Despite this diversity, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported in 2016 that 89.5% of fish stocks are fully fished or overfished.
Learn fun facts and how you can help you favorite ocean fishes – from Atlantic bluefin tuna to blue tang – by clicking a species below.
California grunion are plankton eaters; they eat small, pelagic crustaceans and other zooplankton. Though they eat very small prey, they use their relatively large eyes and strong eyesight to attack individual prey. This strategy is in stark contrast to that used by the very large bodied filter feeders (like whale sharks and basking sharks), which essentially feed blindly … Read more
Like all flatfishes, Pacific halibut have both of their eyes on the same side of their heads, and they live on the seafloor, lying on their blind side, with their eyes facing the open water column. This species is one of several “righteye flounders,” with both eyes on the right side of the head. Amazingly, when they … Read more
This species is known for its long bill that grows from the front of its head. Blue marlin use this bill to stun their prey by slashing their heads in a side-to-side motion, knocking potential prey unconscious, and making it easier to catch. The blue marlin’s bill differs from the swordfish’s and the sailfish‘s by being round and … Read more
Life in the deep sea is difficult, so many fishes there have special adaptations to improve their ability to feed and to mate. Deep sea anglerfish may not regularly encounter suitable prey, so they have very large mouths and stomachs and long, pointy teeth in order to facilitate capturing and swallowing anything that they find. They … Read more
Though generally considered to be foraging predators, which lazily search the reef surface for food, Banded butterflyfish actually utilize a variety of feeding strategies. Some (often in pairs) do forage on the reef surface. Others form larger schools that visually hunt tiny plankton in the water column above the reef. Still others are known to engage in cleaning … Read more
Flashlight fish are predominately nocturnal and are only rarely observed by SCUBA divers during the day. They spend most of the daylight hours hidden in caves or holes in the reef surface. They feed at night away from the reef surface and likely use their light organs to help them locate small, planktonic prey. Like many species that … Read more
The Atlantic goliath grouper, like most groupers, is an ambush predator and eats fairly large fishes and invertebrates and even small sharks. Reefs with large numbers of predators, like Atlantic goliath groupers, are known to be healthier than reefs with no predators, so this species may represent an important part of the reef food web. Atlantic goliath … Read more
Though they spend much of their lives swimming among the tentacles of their host anemone, common clownfish occasionally leave to feed. They are plankton pickers, which means they visually seek and eat individual zooplankton or phytoplankton floating in the water column. They also likely eat algae from the reef surface. Because of the protection afforded them by their … Read more
The stoplight loosejaw is named for the two specialized light-producing organs that are located below each eye. One is green and one is red. Producing light in these two colors increases the ability of the stoplight loosejaw to see and attack its prey. There is very little light at the stoplight loosejaw’s preferred depth – 1700 to … Read more
The general name ‘triggerfish’ comes from the locking characteristic of the dorsal fin that all triggerfishes possess. The first dorsal-fin spine is large and strong and provides these fishes with some protection from predation. When it is erect (standing upright), it is locked in place by the second spine. The first spine can only be lowered after the … Read more
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We have already protected over 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.