Locations

Fish species in California

209 species have two or more US observation records in California. Explore their habitats, families, and local records.

209 species have two or more US observation records in California. ITIS calls 108 of them native to the United States, 80 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 21 introduced.

Species: 209
Freshwater: 153
Saltwater: 101
Survey list: 43

1state

California in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 209 is the number of species observed in California and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 43 is the number the USGS stream survey caught, which samples flowing fresh water only. Neither is the other, so the site never adds them.

The statute

The official state fish of California

Golden trout (freshwater)

Oncorhynchus aguabonita — the statute’s own wording is Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita · named 1947

library.ca.gov

Garibaldi (saltwater)

Hypsypops rubicundus · named 1995

ITIS files no US record under Hypsypops rubicundus, so this site has no page for it.

A state fish is a statute, not a survey. It says which fish the legislature chose, not which fish is most common. The list above links each row to the state's own record.

Most recorded

The fish of California

The species with the most observation records in the state. It is the closest the open data comes to naming the fish people meet.

Californian Anchoveta19,875 records

Engraulis mordaxEngraulidaeNativeSalt

Chinook Salmon6,497 records

Oncorhynchus tshawytschaSalmonidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Pacific Sardine6,428 records

Sardinops sagaxClupeidaeNativeSalt

North Pacific Hake5,659 records

Merluccius productusMerlucciidaeNativeSaltBrackish

Coho Salmon5,508 records

Oncorhynchus kisutchSalmonidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Starry Flounder5,507 records

Platichthys stellatusPleuronectidaeNativeFreshSaltBrackish

Alaskan Stickleback4,557 records

Gasterosteus aculeatusGasterosteidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Rainbow Trout3,892 records

Oncorhynchus mykissSalmonidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Mosquitofish3,874 records

Gambusia affinisPoeciliidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Ocean Sunfish3,491 records

Mola molaMolidaeNativeSalt

Plainfin Midshipman3,481 records

Porichthys notatusBatrachoididaeNativeSalt

Vermilion Rockfish3,356 records

Sebastes miniatusScorpaenidaeNativeSalt

Groups

Types of fish in California

Species

All 209 species, A–Z

A

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

Inland Silverside Menidia beryllina

J

Japanese Weatherfish Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

K

L

M

N

O

R

S

T

U

Utah Chub Gila atraria

V

W

Y

One record only

36 more with a single record

One observation can be a stray, an aquarium release, or a mis-keyed locality, so these are kept out of the count above and listed here instead. The first 36 are shown.