Local Fish
Below are lists of fish found in our beach seines, plus some photos. 2009 was the year that a rigorous effort was made to seine twice a month and to identify most of the fish found. The greater number of fish identified that year has to do with better technique, not more fish (though that could possibly also be the case).
The images are almost all of live fish, which were returned to the water as soon as they'd been photographed.
The images are almost all of live fish, which were returned to the water as soon as they'd been photographed.
Some Fish Found in 2007 Beach Seines
Flatfish
Herring
Perch: Shiner, Striped
Salmon: Chinook, Coho
Sculpins: Cabezon, Sharpnose, Staghorn
Herring
Perch: Shiner, Striped
Salmon: Chinook, Coho
Sculpins: Cabezon, Sharpnose, Staghorn
Some Fish Found in 2008 Beach Seines
clingfish, or Gobiesox maeandricus.
Cod
Flatfish
Gunnel: Crescent, Penpoint, Red, Saddleback
Greenling: Kelp, Rock, White-spotted
Herring
Perch: Pile, Shiner, Striped
Rockfish: Quillback
Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Pink
Sculpin: Buffalo, Great, Staghorn
Tubesnout
Cod
Flatfish
Gunnel: Crescent, Penpoint, Red, Saddleback
Greenling: Kelp, Rock, White-spotted
Herring
Perch: Pile, Shiner, Striped
Rockfish: Quillback
Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Pink
Sculpin: Buffalo, Great, Staghorn
Tubesnout
Some Fish Found in 2009 Beach Seines
Cod: Pacific
Flatfish: English Sole, Starry Flounder, Butter Sole
Greenling: Kelp, White-spotted
Gunnel: Crescent, Penpoint, Saddleback, Snake, Striped
Herring
Perch: Kelp, Pile, Shiner, Striped
Pipefish
Prickleback: Snake
Poacher
Rockfish: juvenile, Copper
Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink
Sand Lance
Sculpin: Buffalo, Cabezon, Great, Padded, Silver-spotted, Sharp-nosed, Silver-spotted, Soft, Staghorn, Red Irish Lord
Smelt
Stickleback
Tubesnout
Flatfish: English Sole, Starry Flounder, Butter Sole
Greenling: Kelp, White-spotted
Gunnel: Crescent, Penpoint, Saddleback, Snake, Striped
Herring
Perch: Kelp, Pile, Shiner, Striped
Pipefish
Prickleback: Snake
Poacher
Rockfish: juvenile, Copper
Salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink
Sand Lance
Sculpin: Buffalo, Cabezon, Great, Padded, Silver-spotted, Sharp-nosed, Silver-spotted, Soft, Staghorn, Red Irish Lord
Smelt
Stickleback
Tubesnout
Cod
June 20, 2008, Zeo's Beach.
Flounder
April 16, 2008, Mail Bay. We find juvenile English Sole and Starry Flounder in the Mail Bay shallows. I'm not sure which these are.
White-spotted Greenling
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay.
White-spotted Greenling
September 29, 2009.
Penpoint Gunnel
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay. This Penpoint Gunnel is one of the largest we've seen in Cowlitz.
Saddleback Gunnel
July 29, 2011, found in Cowlitz Bay at the beach seine. Image by Glen R.
Longnose Lancetfish
May 31, 2007, North Beach. In May 2007 and again in July 2008 Kiaya found a Longnose Lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox, in the shallows at Glenn's beach. Ordinarily, they like deeper water but are widely distributed in all oceans except the polar seas. They are ambush predators, so their flesh is soft and they’re not desirable food fish.
Shiner Perch
Sept 29, 2009, Cowlitz Bay. The three vertical yellow bars on the body distinguish the Shiner Perch from the others. They are the smallest of our varieties.
Striped Perch
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay
Poacher
June 20, 2008, Mail Bay. We don't see many of these.
Copper Rockfish
August 20, 2010, image by Glen R. Juvenile.
Quillback Rockfish
September 29, 2009. Juvenile.
Quillback Rockfish
June 17, 2011. Juvenile. This one had a bunch of small shrimp in its belly.
Juvenile Chinook Salmon
Aug 20, 2010, Cowlitz Bay
Silver-spotted Sculpin
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay. This one was about 65 mm.
One person wonders if it is a Sailfin sculpin instead.
One person wonders if it is a Sailfin sculpin instead.
Buffalo Sculpin
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay. Madrona is pointing to a parasitic copepod on it. Image by Julie L.
Buffalo Sculpin underside
Sept 24, 2010, Cowlitz Bay. Note the parasitic worm near its gill and the translucent beige parasitic copepod near its anus.
Great Sculpin
July 29, 2011, Cowlitz Bay. This one was about 15" long. Image by Glen R.
Smelt
Sept 10, 2010, Cowlitz Bay.
Three-spined Stickleback
August 20, 2010. Image by Glen R.
Tubesnout
Sept 10, 2010, Cowlitz Bay. We usually catch several tubesnouts at a time.
Questions
Please let me know if you know what the fish are that are pictured below. The top one is a White-spotted Greenling, so don't tell me about that one. But the rest.