Fish of San Franscisco Bay Area
Steelhead Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss
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.
Some Oceanic Fish
- Sharks, Rays and Skates
- Ocean Sunfish - Mola mola
- Pacific Bluefin Tuna - Thunnus orientalis
- Pacific Herring - Clupea pallasii
- Shiner Surfperch - Cymatogaster aggregata
- California Halibut - Paralichthys californicus
- Delta Smelt - Hypomesus transpacificus
- Topsmelt Silverside - Atherinops affinis
- Tidepool Sculpin - Oligocottus maculosus
- Pacific Staghorn Sculpin - Leptocottus armatus
- Prickly Sculpin - Cottus asper
- Tidewater Goby - Eucyclogobius newberryi
- Arrow Goby - Clevelandia ios
- Yellowfin Goby - Acanthogobius flavimanus (Introduced)
- Bay Pipefish - Syngnathus leptorhynchus
- Starry Flounder - Platichthys stellatus
- Saddleback Gunnel - Pholis ornata
- White Sturgeon - Acipenser transmontanus
- Plainfin Midshipman - Porichthys notatus
- Rainwater Killifish - Lucania parva (Introduced?)
Some Anadromous Fish
Anadromous fish are born in freshwater, migrate out to the ocean and reach maturity, then return to fresh water as
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)
- Golden Shiner - Notemigonus crysoleucas
- Inland Silverside - Menidia beryllina
- Sacramento Sucker- Catostomus occidentalis
- Common Carp - Cyprinus carpio
- Bluegill - Lepomis macrochirus
- Black Crappie - Pomoxis nigromaculatus
- Striped Bass - Morone saxatilis
- Largemouth Black Bass - Micropterus salmoides
- Smallmouth Black Bass - Micropterus dolomieu
- Green Sunfish - Lepomis cyanellus
- Sacramento Blackfish - Orthodon microlepidotus
- Sacramento Pikeminnow - Ptychocheilus grandis
- California Roach - Hesperoleucus symmetricus
- Hitch - Lavinia exilicauda
- Three-spined Stickleback - Gasterosteus aculeatus
...photo
- Sacramento Perch - Archoplites interruptus
- Tule Perch - Hysterocarpus traskii
- Channel Catfish - Ictalurus punctatus
- Brown Bullhead - Ictalurus nebulosus
- Mosquitofish - Gambusia affinis (Introduced)
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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- 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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