Species Database
Browse species profiles, conservation statuses, and seasonal information. Spot something not in the database? Submit a new species for review.
51 species in Fish
Submit a new speciesSalvelinus alpinus
A relic of the last ice age, the Arctic charr survives in deep, cold glacial lakes in Scotland, Wales, the Lake District and Ireland. Different populations have evolved in isolation and some are genetically unique. Highly sensitive to warming.
Gadus morhua
Once the backbone of British fishing, Atlantic cod has been catastrophically overfished. Once common in UK inshore waters, it now requires management plans and recovery zones. A cold-water fish sensitive to ocean warming.
Hippoglossus hippoglossus
The world's largest flatfish, reaching 4.7 metres. The Atlantic halibut was severely overfished and is now endangered; Scottish aquaculture produces most consumed halibut. Wild individuals are occasionally caught off Scotland.
Clupea harengus
The herring drove the development of British coastal communities for centuries. Vast shoals aggregate in UK waters to spawn on gravel banks. It is the primary food source for puffins, gannets, dolphins and minke whales.
Scomber scombrus
One of Britain's most important commercial and recreational fish, mackerel arrive in inshore waters in summer in enormous shoals. They can be caught from many UK piers and headlands and are an important food for seabirds and cetaceans.
Pollachius pollachius
A sleek, fast-swimming member of the cod family, the pollock is a popular target for boat and shore anglers in UK coastal waters. It hunts in mid-water over reefs and wrecks, chasing sand eels and small fish.
Salmo salar
The king of fish undertakes remarkable migrations from the ocean to spawn in the same upland rivers where it was born. UK populations have declined severely due to marine survival issues, overfishing and barriers to migration.
Sprattus sprattus
A small, shoaling fish of enormous ecological importance in UK seas, forming a critical link in the food web between plankton and larger predators including puffins, dolphins, gannets and commercially important fish.
Labrus bergylta
Britain's largest wrasse, found on rocky reefs around the UK coast. Highly variable in colour, it uses its strong teeth to crush shellfish. It is increasingly used in salmon aquaculture as a 'cleaner fish' to control sea lice.
Barbus barbus
A powerful, streamlined fish of clean, fast-flowing rivers with gravel beds. The barbel has four distinctive chin barbels used to find food in strong currents. It is a prize catch for river anglers, fighting strongly when hooked.
Cetorhinus maximus
The world's second largest fish, reaching 12 metres. Basking sharks filter-feed on plankton at the surface in summer off western coasts, particularly Cornwall, Wales and the Hebrides. Fully protected in UK waters.
Alburnus alburnus
A small, slender, silver fish of slow lowland rivers. Bleak are constantly in motion near the surface, feeding on insects and plankton. Their silvery scales (nacre) were once harvested to manufacture artificial pearls.
Prionace glauca
A sleek, electric-blue oceanic shark that visits UK waters in summer, most commonly off the south-west coast. Blue sharks are the world's most heavily fished shark species but are successfully targeted by boat anglers off Looe and Penzance.
Salmo trutta
The brown trout is one of Britain's most prized fish, varying enormously in size and colouration across different river systems. Sea-run populations (sea trout) make ocean migrations before returning to fresh water to spawn.
Cottus perifretum
A small, bottom-dwelling fish of clean, stony streams, the bullhead hides under stones by day and hunts invertebrates at night. It is a key indicator of good river water quality and a protected priority species.
Squalius cephalus
A robust, large-scaled fish of rivers and streams, the chub is a generalist feeder taking insects, fish, crayfish, berries and even small mammals. It is wary and quick to bolt for cover when alarmed from the surface.
Abramis brama
A large, deep-bodied, bronze fish of slow lowland rivers and lakes. Bream form large shoals and feed by tilting almost vertically to vacuum up invertebrates from soft bottom sediment, creating visible rolling disturbance on the surface.
Cyprinus carpio
Introduced to Britain in medieval times as a food fish, the common carp is now one of the most popular angling species. It can exceed 20 kg and live for 40 years. Wild-strain carp are globally vulnerable due to hybridisation.
Dipturus batis
Formerly the largest flatfish in the world's seas, the common skate was fished almost to extinction. It survives in a few deep-water strongholds around Scotland and Ireland and is now a priority conservation species.
Conger conger
The largest eel in the world and a formidable predator of wrecks, rocky reefs and deep-water habitat around UK coasts. It can reach 3 metres and 110 kg. Conger spawn only once, migrating to the Atlantic to breed and then die.
Labrus mixtus
One of Britain's most vividly coloured fish — males are brilliant blue and orange while females are red-pink with black and white spots. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite; older females transform into males as needed.
Leuciscus leuciscus
A slender, fast-moving fish of clean rivers, the dace is often found in the same clear, gravel-bedded streams as grayling and trout. It is among the first fish to spawn in the UK, gathering in shallow gravel runs in late winter.
Solea solea
One of Britain's most valuable flatfish, the Dover sole is a nocturnal hunter of sandy and muddy seabeds around UK coasts. It burrows into sediment by day and hunts worms and crustaceans at night using a sensitive underslung mouth.
Anguilla anguilla
One of Britain's most remarkable and mysterious fish. The eel spawns in the Sargasso Sea, and glass eels migrate thousands of miles to British rivers. UK populations have declined by over 95% since the 1980s — critically endangered.
Pleuronectes platessa
One of Europe's most commercially important flatfish, recognised by the distinctive orange-red spots on its brown upper side. It lies camouflaged on sandy seabeds in UK coastal waters and has a sweet, delicate flavour.
Dicentrarchus labrax
A prized sport and table fish, the sea bass has been subject to significant stock recovery measures after overfishing. It is found around UK coasts, particularly in the south and west, hunting in surf zones and estuaries.
Thymallus thymallus
The 'lady of the stream', the grayling is a beautiful, sail-finned fish of clean, swift rivers. It has a distinctive thyme-like scent which gave rise to its Latin name, and is a prized fly-fishing target in autumn and winter.
Syngnathus acus
Britain's most commonly encountered pipefish, a slender, rigid fish closely related to seahorses. It is found amongst seagrass and algae in sheltered coastal areas and is camouflaged by its elongated, brownish body.
Gobio gobio
A small, bottom-dwelling fish of rivers and lakes with a pair of distinctive chin barbels. The gudgeon typically lies close to the riverbed on sand or gravel, feeding on invertebrates and detritus.
Melanogrammus aeglefinus
One of the UK's most economically important fish, particularly in Scotland. Distinguished by a distinctive dark blotch above the pectoral fin (St Peter's thumbprint of legend) and a black lateral line on its silvery body.
Scyliorhinus canicula
The most abundant shark in UK inshore waters, found on sandy and gravel seabeds around the entire coastline. It lays eggs in tough, horny cases — the mermaid's purses commonly found on beaches — and feeds on invertebrates.
Cyclopterus lumpus
A bizarre, globular fish with a sucker disc on its belly and rows of bony tubercles on its body. The male guards the egg mass in a rock crevice and fans them with his fins for weeks. Found on rocky coasts around Scotland and northern England.
Phoxinus phoxinus
Britain's most familiar small fish, found in clean streams and rivers across the country. Minnows form dense shoals and are a key food source for kingfishers and trout. Males develop a vivid red belly during the spring spawning season.
Perca fluviatilis
The perch is one of the most handsome British freshwater fish, with bold dark stripes, orange-red fins and a spiny dorsal fin. It is a schooling predator of smaller fish and invertebrates in lakes and rivers.
Esox lucius
Britain's apex freshwater predator, the pike lurks motionless in weedy water before striking with extraordinary speed. Large females can exceed a metre in length. It will take fish, frogs, ducklings and even small mammals.
Lamna nasus
A powerful, warm-blooded shark of north Atlantic and UK waters, the porbeagle was heavily overfished and is now critically endangered globally. It is fast-growing and visits UK waters in summer to feed on mackerel and herring.
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Introduced from North America and widely stocked in UK rivers and still-water fisheries. Wild-breeding populations occur in a few rivers. Recognised by the distinctive pink-red lateral stripe and black-spotted body.
Rutilus rutilus
The most widespread and numerous fish in British lowland waters, the roach is a shoaling species recognised by its red fins and silvery scales. It is a vital prey species for pike, otters and herons.
Scardinius erythrophthalmus
A golden-flanked fish of still and slow waters, the rudd often feeds at the surface among water lilies. Easily confused with roach, it is distinguished by its more golden colour and upward-tilting mouth.
Gymnocephalus cernua
A small perch-like fish introduced to Loch Lomond where it has caused significant damage to powan populations. Elsewhere it is a native species of sluggish lowland rivers and lakes in England, rarely caught by anglers.
Hippocampus hippocampus
One of only two seahorse species in UK waters, found in sheltered bays and estuaries where seagrass or maerl beds provide anchorage. It is fully protected in UK waters. Males carry the eggs in a brood pouch.
Cobitis taenia
A very local fish found only in a handful of English rivers, the spined loach has a small erectile spine below each eye. It lives in slow-flowing, muddy rivers and is fully protected under UK law.
Squalus acanthias
A small, schooling shark that was once the most abundant shark in UK seas. Heavily overfished and now recovering slowly following protective measures. It has a venomous spine in front of each dorsal fin.
Barbatula barbatula
A small, eel-like fish of clean, gravelly streams with six sensory barbels around its mouth. The stone loach hides under stones and emerges at night to feed, often overlooked due to its cryptic colouring and secretive habits.
Tinca tinca
The 'doctor fish', the tench was once believed to have healing properties. A deep-bodied, bronze-green fish of weedy ponds and lakes, it stirs up bottom mud when feeding and can survive low oxygen levels that defeat other species.
Raja clavata
The most common ray in UK coastal waters, the thornback has a mosaic of brown patterns and rows of spines on its back. It lies on sandy or muddy seabeds and is commonly caught by inshore anglers and in trawls.
Gasterosteus aculeatus
One of Britain's most familiar freshwater fish, found in streams, ponds and even brackish water. In spring the male turns brilliant red, builds a nest from plant material and fans oxygen over the eggs with his fins.
Galeorhinus galeus
A slender, migratory shark that visits UK inshore waters in summer. The tope gives birth to live young and is popular with shore and boat anglers. Females form separate shoals and travel to shallow nursery areas to pup.
Coregonus albula
Britain's rarest freshwater fish, surviving in just two Scottish lochs and Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria as an ice age relic. It is threatened by warming water temperatures, introduced species and nutrient enrichment.
Merlangius merlangus
A common inshore member of the cod family found throughout UK coastal waters. Whiting are important prey for seabirds and marine mammals. They hunt sand eels, sprats and invertebrates in sandy-bottomed bays and estuaries.
Sander lucioperca
Introduced from continental Europe and now established in the Fens and some midland rivers and canals. A powerful, pike-like predator with excellent night vision, it has impacted native fish populations in some areas.