a few fabulous fish:
mackerel (Scomber scombrus): fast-swimming and strikingly marked, common to south and west of UK.
sunfish (Mola mola): the heaviest bony fish, seen "sunbathing" at the surface. Feeds on jellyfish.
butterfish (Pholis gunnellus): common in rckpools, a long slippery customer.

Everyone knows about fish - or do they? There are actually 20-25,000 species of fish, of the most wonderful and sometimes weird variety. Many fish are edible, and stocks of many if them are over-exploited.

classification
Most living bony fish are "teleosts". These include cod, haddock, herring and blennies, and flat fish such as plaice, and turbot.

"Elasmobranchs" do not have a bony skeleton, and are considered to be more primitive than bony fish - but sharks and rays are certainly some of the most effective predators in the sea!

fish facts

• Most fish swim by oscillating their bodies. Some fish, like blennies and gobies, don't move very far nor fast, while mackerel and tuna are strong, fast swimmers.
• One of the most remarkable internal features of the teleost fishes is the "swim bladder". This is an air-filled organ that is used to regulate buoyancy.
• Adult fishes feed in a wide variety of ways, ranging from sieving phytoplankton (like basking sharks) to devouring other fishes whole.

Threats

• Stocks of many species are overfished.
• Many fish caught are discarded.
• Other species of fish and other animals are accidentally caught as bycatch
• Fish are also affected by pollution and damage to their habitat.