Colorful fish swim in blue water.

an adult and baby coelacanth specimens on display

Meet the Coelacanth

Learn about the fish that was once thought to be extinct.

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Featured Content

Clever Measures Track Fishing Pressures

A Honduran small-scale fisherman on a boat setting out to fish.

August 2018

Tough Teeth and Parrotfish Poop

A blue parrotfish hides among coral.

March 2018

Fish Get Risky Around Oil

On coral reefs fish are important links in the food chain that sustains higher-order predators (including humans) and keeps everything in balance.

September 2017

Why the Littlest Fish Matter a Whole Lot

A tornado of sardines swirls around diver and photographer Erwin Poliakoff in the Philippines.

May 2015

Following the Akule

A school of akule (Hawaiian for bigeye scad) explode into a camera's frame.

August 2015

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.

see all lesson plans see fish lesson plans

Fish Articles

Photograph of the underside of a gelatinous octopus with a bright yellow bioluminescent ring around her mouth.

Slideshow

Bioluminescent Animals Photo Gallery

Clever Measures Track Fishing Pressures

A Honduran small-scale fisherman on a boat setting out to fish.

August 2018

Fish Heart Out of Water

A green mahi-mahi fish underwater

June 2018

A screenshot from the video showing a Palauan primitive cave eel.

Video

Video of the Palauan primitive cave eel (Protanguilla palau)

The Blue Halo – Barbuda and Beyond

A Barbudan fisherman with a fresh lobster catch!

August 2015

A Sub and a Sea Toad

A photo of a sea toad specimen.

July 2011

Pufferfishes and Their Relatives

an illustration of pufferfish species and their relatives

January 2023

Surprising Results Upon Reexamining the Curious Jaw of the Moray Eel

A brown and white dragon moray eel with its mouth open.

September 2019

This aptly named fish has two long fangs.

Slideshow

Creepy Critters: Marine Life Surfaces for Halloween

Uncovering Biodiversity Before It Disappears

A tusk shell hermit crab peeks out of his shell.

August 2012

Helpful Herbivores

Convict surgeonfish are the roaming sheep of the reef but, instead of noshing on grass, they feed on algae.

June 2013

The Big Five of the Ocean: Exploring the Waters of East Africa

A whale shark swims with a diver off the coast of East Africa.

November 2012