September 2013
The primary reason for this checklist is to answer the question, “How many fish species occur in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS or sanctuary)?” One cannot answer that question without first answering the question “What fish species are known to occur in MBNMS?” It was our mission to compile a defendable list of fishes known to occur within the sanctuary. To do that, we consulted numerous sources including: regional guidebooks, local experts, pertinent literature, recent field surveys, and most importantly catalogued ichthyology collections (see list at end). Rare or uncommon fishes were only included where there was well-documented basis (i.e., specimens were collected and catalogued, and/or information was verified by taxonomic expert). The checklist is a simple one: a taxonomic checklist of fishes (any life history stage) known to occur in MBNMS. The present list includes 525 fish species.
Catalogued ichthyology collections:
The checklist is organized in taxonomic order following Nelson 2006 (Fishes of the World); species names are alphabetized within family. Common names follow Page et al. 2013 (Common and Scientific Names of Fishes), except where noted.
This list will be periodically updated when new information becomes available.
To download the report (0.7 MB PDF) click here.