Marine Fish of New Jersey

There are approximately 450 species of vertebrate wildlife which can be found within the Garden State, along with 85 freshwater fish. Our bays, estuaries and marine waters can be home to 28 marine mammals and 336 marine finfish at some point during the year. This is an exceptional number of species for a state as small as New Jersey. The majority of the information in the tables below was compiled through the work of Ken Able (Able, 1992) and lists marine fish which can be found in our waters.

The following species are found abundantly in New Jersey waters:

The following species are commonly found in our marine waters:

The below species are occasionally found in New Jersey’s marine waters.

The following species are rarely found in New Jersey marine waters:

Citation:
Able, K.W. 1992. Checklist of New Jersey saltwater fishes. Bull. N.J. Acad. Sci. 37(1):1-11