Fish of San Franscisco Bay Area
Steelhead Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss
Bluegill - Lepomis macrochirus (Shadow Cliffs)
You are usually close to water anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. The bay itself and the ocean waters are home to a variety of fish, including different types of sharks, and rays. And the rivers and streams are host to many kinds of freshwater fishes.
There are probably around 11 species of Sharks in the Bay itself including Leopard Shark and Sevengill Shark. A great place to see Sharks and Rays is
Elkhorn Slough.
Fish Found in Both Fresh and Saltwater
- Prickly Sculpin - Cottus asper
Some Saltwater Fish
- Sharks, Rays and Skates
- Ocean Sunfish - Mola mola
- Pacific Bluefin Tuna - Thunnus orientalis
- Pacific Herring - Clupea pallasii
- South American Pilchard (Pacific Sardine) - Sardinops sagax
- Shiner Surfperch - Cymatogaster aggregata
- Black Surfperch - Embiotoca jacksoni
- Dwarf Surfperch - Micrometrus minimus
- White Surfperch - Phanerodon furcatus
- California Halibut - Paralichthys californicus
- English Sole - Parophrys vetulus
- Diamond Turbot - Hypsopsetta guttulata
- Starry Flounder - Platichthys stellatus
- Californian (Northern) Anchovy - Engraulis mordax
- Delta Smelt - Hypomesus transpacificus
- Longfin Smelt - Spirinchus thaleichthys
- Topsmelt Silverside - Atherinops affinis
- Jack Silverside (Jacksmelt) - Atherinopsis californiensis
- Tidepool Sculpin - Oligocottus maculosus
- Pacific Staghorn Sculpin - Leptocottus armatus
- Tidewater Goby - Eucyclogobius newberryi
- Arrow Goby - Clevelandia ios
- Yellowfin Goby - Acanthogobius flavimanus (Introduced)
- Bay Pipefish - Syngnathus leptorhynchus
- Saddleback Gunnel - Pholis ornata
- White Sturgeon - Acipenser transmontanus
- North American Green Sturgeon - Acipenser medirostris
- Plainfin Midshipman - Porichthys notatus
- Rainwater Killifish - Lucania parva (Non-native)
Some Anadromous Fish
Anadromous fish are born in freshwater, migrate out to the ocean and reach maturity, then return to fresh water as adults to spawn.
- Steelhead Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss (this is the anadromous form of Rainbow Trout)
- Coho Salmon - Oncorhynchus kisutch
- Chinook Salmon - Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
- Pacific Lamprey - Entosphenus tridentata
Some Freshwater Fish
- Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss (this is the freshwater form of Steelhead Trout)
- Sacramento Sucker- Catostomus occidentalis
- Common Carp - Cyprinus carpio
- Sacramento Splittail - Pogonichthys macrolepidotus
- Sacramento Blackfish - Orthodon microlepidotus
- Sacramento Pikeminnow - Ptychocheilus grandis
- California Roach - Hesperoleucus symmetricus
- Hitch - Lavinia exilicauda
- Three-spined Stickleback - Gasterosteus aculeatus
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- Sacramento Perch - Archoplites interruptus
- Tule Perch - Hysterocarpus traskii
- Hardhead - Mylopharodon conocephalus
- Western Brook Lamprey - Lampetra richardsoni
- Western American River Lamprey - Lampetra ayresii
- Riffle Sculpin - Cottus gulosus
- Mosquitofish - Gambusia affinis (Non-native)
- Black Crappie - Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Non-native)
- Green Sunfish - Lepomis cyanellus (Non-native)
- Redear Sunfish - Lepomis microlophus (Non-native)
- Pumpkinseed - Lepomis gibbosus (Non-native)
- Golden Shiner - Notemigonus crysoleucas (Non-native)
- Goldfish - Carassius auratus (Non-native)
- Inland (Mississippi) Silverside - Menidia beryllina (Non-native)
- Brown Bullhead - Ictalurus nebulosus (Non-native)
- Black Bullhead - Ameiurus melas (Non-native)
- Channel Catfish - Ictalurus punctatus (Non-native)
- Bigscale Logperch - Percina macrolepida (Non-native)
- Bluegill - Lepomis macrochirus (Non-native)
- Striped Bass - Morone saxatilis (Non-native)
- Largemouth (Black) Bass - Micropterus salmoides (Non-native)
- Smallmouth (Black) Bass - Micropterus dolomieu (Non-native)
Organizations
- Alameda Creek Alliance - restoring Alameda Creek watershed and its native fish populations.
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- Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed (FOMCW) - Protect, conserve, and restore Marsh Creek and its tributaries, and inspire appreciation and conservation of the Marsh Creek Watershed.
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- Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project - restoration and enhancement of the native salmon and steelhead populations of the greater Monterey Bay area.
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- Pelagic Shark Research Foundation - develop and assist projects that contribute to a better understanding of elasmobranchs, with an emphasis on those which contribute to their conservation and management.
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- Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) - protect endangered Salmon in the Lagunitas Watershed.
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Video
- Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout in National Park land in Marin County.
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Fish Articles and Links
- Pacific Bluefin Tuna tagging research - migration patterns off the California coast to Hawaii.
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- Fish and Shellfish Identification, California Dept. of Fish and Game.
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- Salmon Viewing Map for the Bay Area from the Bay Institute
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- Marin County Stream and Coho Salmon Map
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- Salmonids of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
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- Fish found in Marsh Creek with illustrations and descriptions by the Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed.
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- Fish found in the Tule Ponds at Tyson Lagoon, Fremont with descriptions and photographs by the
Math/Science Nucleus.
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- The Return of the endangered Tidewater Goby to Tomales Bay State Park, video by Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center.
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- Chinook Salmon in the Russian River - data from Sonoma County Water Agency
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- Ecology, Assemblage Structure, Distribution, and Status of Fishes in Streams Tributary to the San Francisco Estuary, California, by Robert A. Leidy, EPA, published by San Francisco Estuary Institute.
Appendex III gives a nice table of fish species by watershed for the entire Bay Area.
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- Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) Species Distributions In San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bays, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Soutwest Regional Office.
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- Marine Science Institute Volunteer Fish Data Program: South San Francisco Bay Fish Populations from 1970 through 2007 - data for 12 species
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