(Hemitripterus americanus) is a unique sculpin which has fleshy tabs on its chin that looks like seaweed. It can come in a variety of colours but mostly brown. It is one of our North Atlantic's colourful fish, especially when one sees a red or yellow one! They can grow up to 25 inches and 7 pounds. They eat invertebrates, crustaceans, sea urchins,worms & even fish. They are quire common around the Atlantic coast & usually quite tolerant to being around divers.

(Myoxocephalus scorpius), is a bottom fish and found around rocks & ledges but also on sandy or cobbled bottoms. They are noted for their short spines on their cheeks and gill covers. They are not venomous but they do look a lot like scorpionfish. They are found from the Arctic down as far as New Jersey. They eat crabs, shrimp, small fish, worms and sometimes small lobsters. They will also grab one's finger if waved in their face but their small teeth will not hurt one.

(Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus) also called Gray Sculpin or Toadhead is much like the Shorthorn but has longer spines on their cheeks and gill covers. It is a bottom fish and found around rocks, ledges, sandy or mud bottom and are often seen when diving around Nova Scotia.They are found from Newfoundland down as far as New Jersey. They eat crabs, shrimp, small fish, worms and sometimes small lobsters. They will also grab one's finger if waved in their face but their small teet

Lumpfish or Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) is a bottom dwelling fish with a sucker disc underneath formed by the pelvic fins which allows it to attach to the bottom in rough waves or currents. They range in colours from greenish-black to bright orange or red.They lay their eggs in the Spring and the male stays & guards the eggs & aerates them until they hatch. The eggs also can be a variety of colours ranging from green, pink or black. The male is very aggressive during this time & is not scare

Common Sea Robin (Prionotus carolinus) is like a sculpin but it has its head incased in bony plates. They have large colourful pectoral fins which when spread open look like wings. They were thought to be flying fish but they never leave the water. They use the fins to stir up the bottom to scare prey out of hiding. They are also called gurnard because they often make grunting sounds. They are not commonly seen in Nova Scotia which is at the top of their range down to South Carolina. Will Semple

(Thunnus thynnus) is the largest of the tuna & can be up to 12 feet long & weigh 1,500 pounds. It can swim as fast as 40 miles an hour (64km/hr).They are found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (on the western side from Newfoundland down to Brazil). Its dorsal fin can be hid in a slit to streamline the head for fast swimming. The tuna is also warm blooded which helps in the chilly Atlantic waters. It eats sardines, herring, mackerel, mullet and some squid & crustaceans.

(Macrozoarces americanus) or Eel Pout is a blenny-like fish with big lips and reaching a length of 3.5 feet (1 metre). The fish is usually reddish brown and mottled but could be pale or orange coloured. They range from the Gulf of St. Lawrance to Deleware. They eat a wide variety of mollusks,edhinoderms & invertebrates. They used to be common in shallow waters in the Spring but recently not so common.

(Anarhichas lupus), also called Wolf Eel, Catfish and SeaWolf, is a large blennie-like fish found along the coast from the Arctic to Cape Cod. They are bottom dwelling and eat mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms which their strong, powerful teeth. After the female lays the eggs, the male stays and guards the eggs until they hatch. The wolffish used come regularly in to shallow water in the Spring but now they are rarely seen. Their numbers have declined due to overfishing.

Snake Blenny (Lumpenus lampretaeformis) is an eel-like fish with a pointed caudal fin. It is found from Greenland to Massachusetts. It feeds on small crustaceans, mollusks, brittle stars and worms.

Northern Pipefish ( Syngnathus fuscus) or Common Pipefish is found in protected bays and harbours, mostly in sea grasses for food and protection. They range from Gulf of St. Lawrence to north Florida. They eat tiny invertebrates and the male has a brood pouch to raise the young like the seahorse.

(Tautogolabrus adspersus) is a common fish, (species of Wrasse) found around our shores from Newfoundland down to Chesapeake Bay, USA. Sometimes called Bergall, Chogse

These fish have been know to try an nibble on such things as hoods/masks/lips pretty harmless

(Pholis gunnellus) is an eel-like fish found in the intertidal and subtidal zones of the North Atlantic from Greenland to Deleware. It can be various colours of yellow, red, olive or brown and has dark spots along the base of the dorsal fin which runs the length of the body. They eat small crustaceans including amphipods, isopods, polychaetes & mollusks

(Gadus morhua) is a schooling fish found throughout the North Atlantic. It has a chin barbel and a distinct white lateral line. They like to live on rocky habitat and like to eat small fish like haddock, whiting, sand eels, squid, crabs, lobsters, etc. It is a popular food item and was on the endangered list for a while but is slowly recovering

(Scomber scombrus) is a pelagic schooling fish on both sides of the north Atlantic Ocean which migrates north as the water warms for the summer months.The term mackerel means marked or spotted.They have a striped pattern on their backs and a deeply forked tail.

(Brevoortia tyrannus) is a North American species of fish in the herring family found along the coast from Nova Scotia to Florida. They are silver coloured and have a black spot just behind their gill. They can grow up to 15 inches. They are filter feeders and eat mainly zooplankton

(Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is also a member of the Gadoid family and is a bottom-dwelling groundfish. Similar to the Pollock but has a black lateral line & a distinctive dark blotch above the pectoral fin. Its range is from Greenland to North Carolina & on both sides of the Atlantic.

(Pollachius virens) is a cod-like fish which is sometimes called Boston Bluefish. They are greenish brown with a silvery lateral line running down its sides.They eat codopods & crustaceans when young and larger crustaceans and fish like herring, cod, hake and smelts when older. They often hunt in schools and can often be seen chasing sand lances in shallow sandy areas.

(Urophycis chuss), or sometimes called Red Hake is found from southern Newfoundland to Virginia, USA. They have a barbel on their chin as they are a member of the cod family.

(Illex illecebrosus) is a species of squid found in the northwest Atlantic. They are important commercially & are fished heavily. Little is known where they reproduce and is thought to occur in the open ocean near temperature thermoclines perhaps on the continential shelf near the Mid-Atlantic Bight.

(Doryteuthis pealeii) is a common squid found in the North Atlantic. It makes seasonal migrations according to temperatures variances. They live about a year and lay their eggs in gelatinous capsules containing about 200 eggs.

Found at Fox Point Beach Mid July 2013