Juvenile Fish Of Northwest Florida: Identification Field Guide

This 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch flip top identification guide was assembled by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance in cooperation with University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Sea Grant Program and the Marine Science Academy of B.T. Washington High School to assist individuals along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico to identify juvenile fish species that are commonly misidentified. The guide includes photographs of juvenile fish, range and habitat, physical descriptions, key identifying features, size of fish, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission fishing regulations where applicable. This identification guide is organized by caudal fin shape: truncate, rounded, forked, lunate, or continuous. While there are many different ways to identify fish, the caudal fin shape is a universal identification practice to begin distinguishing between fish families. Most of these species were caught between the Choctawhatchee and Pensacola Bay nearshore with a seine or dip net.